Delta Killings: Okuama Leaders Need To Provide The Offenders — General Sura
Okuama leaders need to provide the offenders to prevent significant collateral damage, according to General Sura
John Sura, the retired brigadier general, had been in the military for a number of years, both domestically and abroad. The former general discusses the recent army deaths in Delta State as well as other security issues facing Nigeria in this conversation with ISAAC SHOBAYO. Abridged:
The tragic event that claimed the lives of sixteen Nigerian soldiers on a mission to put an end to fighting in the Okuama Community in the Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State has been receiving attention. What impression do you have of the military actions following the local killings?
Internal security is being used to deploy the military. The military action in the Niger Delta was conducted only with the intention of enforcing peace among the people. It is a peace support mission. For this reason, as soon as the soldiers arrived in the town, they met with the leaders of the group to discuss possible local solutions. When they were unable to do so, they made the decision to ask the leaders to have a neutral conversation with the community leaders about the matters at hand. According to the story we were given, the situation deteriorated to the point that they had to begin defending themselves.
The military didn't plan for this when they were coming to that village; they were going there to support the peace, not to enforce it, which is why they waited until things got out of hand. The military will then need to intervene in order to remove the dead bodies once the commanders and soldiers are slain.
This is where peace enforcement comes in. As per the UN Charter and African Union, when peace support is sought and not forthcoming—as was the case for some of us in Sudan at the time—you are compelled to enact the next level, which is peace enforcement. This is what happened when the General Officer Commanding 6 Division and others resorted to doing whatever it took to bring about peace in the region.
Thus, recovering the officers' remains cannot be accomplished through negotiation since, even if it could be possible, you might not receive the results you were hoping for. The military is known for its enforcement of the law, therefore whatever is going on right now is essential because, in any operation, the instant someone crosses the red line, there will be the fewest casualties possible for those nearby.
While many Nigerians criticized the men's and military commanders' deaths in vehement, many also took issue with the aftermath of military actions, which resulted in civilian casualties and house fires. What would have been the best course of action to take in order to avoid causing significant harm to others?
When the military conducts an operation of this nature, what do you anticipate? According to the narrative that is now available, the military personnel who had gone there to support peace eventually had to start shooting into the air, and as they were doing so, some assailants attacked and killed them. There was always going to be a five percent casualty rate in any operation involving the full force of the military returning to retrieve the dead bodies and force the community to submit. Every individual in the community was labeled as a criminal and perceived as having assisted in the crime.
Such incidents have already occurred in Nigeria, Niger, Borno, and other states. People are questioning why such a large-scale operation is being conducted against the populace rather than using a tactful and diplomatic approach elsewhere.
In my opinion, the military seeks to take action that will discourage other communities from following suit or any other group from confronting the military while it is attempting to defend the state.
In addition, if such an incident occurs, the local authorities will be aware that they must find the guilty parties in order to prevent further collateral damage to the community, similar to what is happening presently. It will indicate to everyone else in the community that they are all enemies once you wish to use the military to fight the state and the government decides to let the military carry out its regular duties.
The regrettable situation appears to be getting worse, despite the common anticipation that with the arrival of this administration, the level of insecurity in the nation will drop to the absolute minimum. What recommendations do you have in this respect?
The current state of our economy has forced even people to start fighting for their everyday subsistence.
Additionally, they are working against the state while carrying out their activities. Security services are need to be on high alert when crime rates are high, and they may not always have the resources to stop it.
And naturally, the military will have to intervene if it descends into mauling, homicides, and conflicts amongst the communities. Additionally, the military will seek to stop any actions that could undermine the nation's economy. According to the narratives we are hearing, some of the people who committed the deed may not have been locals; instead, they may have been from the high seas. These could all be economic causes that lead to rivalry between two members of the community in an attempt to gain the upper hand.
Large-scale kidnapping is once again on the rise, particularly in the nation's north. Similar to how the Chibok girls were abducted during the former President Goodluck Jonathan's administration, 287 pupils were recently abducted in Kaduna State's Chikum Local Government Area (Cut-n).
The military has a clever proverb that reads, “The enemy is equally trained as you are.” The kidnappers are aware of this because they have seen how Nigerians behave and how the security services are not stationed throughout the nation. It isn't achievable. Our five million security guards will still not be enough to protect the entire nation.
When they are prepared to attack, they strike when nobody is expecting it. If we are successful in doing what the current administration is attempting to do, which includes giving the state government the authority to start investigating the matter of community police and other ways to try and obtain information to secure the people, things will start to slow down. In my opinion, we ought to be able to create three-tiered defense plans for our citizens.
The first and most important thing the government needs to do is figure out how to let people be their own first line of defense. That is, every man needs to be able to defend himself, using a stick or anything else, in order to provide resistance against any potential attacks by criminal forces. State or local law enforcement, the Forest Guard (such as Amotekun), the recently established Sokoto Forest Guard, or Operation Rainbow in Plateau State might all be considered the second line of defense.
The state government will be in charge of this, and the federation's security officers should be the third line of defense; they should only be called upon in an emergency. Furthermore, the majority of military commanders had received training from the retired general at some point, thus they still possess this expertise.
I would have counseled the Commander in Chief to call these individuals out of retirement because so many of them were put into reserve at a young age in these security agencies. Additionally, the majority of these retired officers who are dispersed around the nation and who have a strong sense of loyalty to this country are important in helping us stop the tide of instability.
It stings to learn that, in spite of everything we have done for this country, we have not been able to stop all of these. Thus, I recommend that the federal government take this strategy into account. There are still nimble retired officers here who may assist and provide knowledge to active duty members.
How can the abducted children be freed from captivity when they are still being held captive?
Right now, it's going to be really challenging. They can accomplish that with their surveillance aircraft. A few of the guys who managed to flee claimed that an Air Force plane had approached their location and was on the verge of doing so when the kidnappers made them lie down to prevent the plane from capturing them. Since these are the folks that have been moving around for the last seven days, it will now be hard to find them.
It won't be that simple, unless there is information that claims to know where they are. But as they continue on their journey, they may have come across certain towns or individuals who can provide information that will enable their rescue. Though it can require some time, they will be saved.
However, Sheikh Gumi has offered to head a negotiation team in the hopes of saving the kids.
The DSS and the military ought to have taken the Sheikh hostage and cooperated with him. If a ransom is offered, it will be used to reach the students' whereabouts. That's fine if it's the best course of action right now to save these kids. It's a flexible problem, so feel free to use it.
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