By Our Reporter
Nigerians have continued to express concern and disappointment over the way and manner in which the Okuama crisis is being handled, as suspects are reportedly handed over to the Nigerian Army instead of the Nigerian Police Force.
There have been questions over who should take on the investigations in the recent murder of the 17 soldiers allegedly killed by the errant youths of Okuama village in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.
The controversy gained strength when the Nigerian Police reportedly turned over the traditional ruler of Ewu Kingdom, Delta State, HRM Clement Ikolo, one of the eight suspects declared wanted by the Defence Headquarters, DHQ, Abuja, over the incident, to the Army. Many saw this move by the Nigeria Police Force as unconstitutional, as the responsibility to investigate the matter lies with the Police and not the Army. They therefore advised the Army to quickly return the suspects to the Police for proper investigations and subsequent prosecution.
According to reports by the Vanguard, a legal luminary, Cosmos Enwelizor, SAN, is of the opinion that the Police should handle investigations
“My take is that the Army should allow the Police do the investigation and punish whoever is found culpable in the crime committed.
“Every criminal matter should be handled by the police as enshrined in the constitution. Our constitution does not give power to the Army to declare any Nigerian wanted. The constitution does not also empower the Army to arrest and prosecute anybody. It is not their responsibility. It is only in Nigeria that you see the Army doing everything and this is not good for our constitution.
“The Army should refrain from committing a constitutional breach by declaring citizens wanted for criminal offences. It is only the Police that has the constitutional right to arrest, prosecute, and or declare anybody wanted and not the Army. If there is any crisis anywhere, the Police have the power to wade in and arrest the situation, not the Army.
“If you go to other countries, even in Africa, you can never see a soldier on the streets. The role of the Army is to protect the country’s territorial integrity, not to declare citizens wanted. How can the Army invade a community, Okuama, destroy everything, and then declare a king wanted?
“While I sympathize with the families of those 17 soldiers killed by hoodlums, I want to say that the killers of those soldiers might not necessarily be indigenes of the community.”
Meanwhile, Vanguard reports that the Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, the apex group of the Urhobo ethnic nationality in Delta State, has expressed displeasure with the action of the Nigerian Army in declaring the traditional ruler of Ewu kingdom, HRM Clement Ikolo, and Urhobo natives wanted over the killing of 17 soldiers, recently, in Okuama community, Ughelli South Local Government Area.
President General of the group in a statement, Chief Ese Gam, said: “The Urhobo nation condemn in its entirety this unprovoked declaration of eight prominent Urhobo sons and daughter wanted by the Nigeria army .
“First, what is the condition for this unwarranted declaration? Did the police or the army invite them? Did they refuse to come? We should not do things to attract media attention…
“This is a country of laws, if a person is to be declared wanted, it should be seen that there was an invitation and if the invitation is turned down, there should be a repeat invitation, but from nowhere, you say a professor, a lecturer in Delta State University, and the president general of Ewu Kingdom is declared wanted
“The police is the only body in this country that is empowered statutorily to arrest, investigate, and prosecute an alleged crime, here is a king (Ovie of Ewu Urhobo Kingdom) because he knows that his hands are clean, surrendered himself to the police, now, the police on their own handed over our royal majesty to the army.”
With reports from the Vanguard