Tensions are high in Nigeria after the military accused Delta State monarchs of involvement in the killing of 17 soldiers last month. The soldiers were killed while responding to a clash between two neighboring communities.
General Musa, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, claims the attack was planned and the monarchs must have known about the criminal activity. “They (Urhobo monarchs) cannot say that they do not know what is going on there,” he said. “We know that a lot of people knew what was going on and kept quiet and that makes them complicit.”
General Musa’s remark was in response to the demand for the release of the monarch of Ewu Kingdom, Clement Ikolo, by the Urhobo Council of Chiefs. Ikolo was among the eight persons declared wanted by the Defence Headquarters in connection to the killing on March 14.
Immediately after the publication, the traditional ruler turned himself in to the Delta State Police Command and was subsequently handed to the military. Ikolo’s Council of Chiefs absolved him of any wrongdoing.
“His Majesty (Ikolo) is in no way associated with the ongoing feud between Okoloba and Okuama Communities, let alone the tragic killing of army personnel,” they said in a statement last Saturday.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
