Blessing Okorite, Port Harcourt
The Kalaekuleama community in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, to investigate the recent alleged invasion of their community by men of the Operation DELTA SAFE (ODS).
The people of the community lamented that the alleged military invasion on their land by the security operatives over suspected oil bunkering has rendered majority of them homeless.
They alleged that men of ODS penultimate Monday, July 29, invaded their community without any known reason, burnt houses and sacked the community.
It was learned that the Operation DELTA SAFE had in the course of its fight against oil bunkering invaded some communities in the oil rich region and burnt down many houses.
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A chief in the community, Chief Joel Asobari, had denied that the community harbours oil thieves, wondering while the military would sack the entire community for a crime they were not into.
His words, “We were just in our house when JTF came with one gunboat and another speed boat. The boats were loaded with armed soldiers.
“When they came they said the community should vacate that they want to burn down the houses. They went into action with listening to our pleas and they rendered us homeless.
“We pleaded with them. The next thing we saw was that they started burning house and they molested me.
“They shot one Mr. Sunday Aniete Bassey, a fisherman from Akwa-Ibom State was recorded in the invasion.
“We are begging on the government to come to our aide. We are now without cloths. And we are homeless. When it rains it beats us.
“The only school that we built has burnt to ashes, now our children have not school to go again. We want the government to intervention and a help us out.”
Meanwhile, at press time, the coordinator, Joint Media Campaign Centre, Operation DELTA SAFE, Major Eromosele Unua Kalu was yet to react to the allegation.
But it was learned that Eromosele Unua Kalu had said the operation was in line with anti-illegal oil bunkering operation in the area.
He had also said no house was burnt, stressing that only makeshift thatch houses used for storage of the illegal refined products were destroyed.