An Army Unit Commander, Lt. E. D. Oworobo who ordered his men to mercilessly flog, beat and injure women protesting peacefully after their community land was taken away from them has tried to exonerate himself.
Nigerian Army Unit Commander stationed at Ovre-Eku community, Ethiope East Local Government Area, Delta State, Lt. E. D. Oworobo, has said he ordered his men to flog protesting women old enough to be his mother because he believed the women attempted to disarm his men. The disputed land is being claimed by PRESCO Oil Company
The women who had no weapons were mercilessly beaten like criminals, kicked about and inflicted various degrees of injuries at Ovre-Eku (Iwevbo) community over a land which had been in dispute for years between Edo and Delta states.
Oworobo and his men of the 4th Brigade Command, Benin-City, Edo State, while trying to exonerate himself from the dastardly act after treating the women like criminals claimed that he had no option than to order his men to use minimal force to disperse the protesters.
Although it is still something to wonder how women could disarm a whole army unit, that Oworobo had contacted the District Officer, DO, of Eku Police station, Mr. Andrew Efejedia, in an attempt to exonerate himself and his men of any wrong doing in the incident.
According to the source, Oworobo had asked the DO, “Don’t you know it is a crime to carry a charm according to the Criminal Code of Nigeria?”
Vanguard reports that Lt. Oworobo also threatened to deal with the Warri correspondents of The Authority and The Nation newspapers, Theophilus Onojeghen and Bolaji Ogundele, both of whom had contacted him to know what actually transpired between his men and the protesting women.
The offence of the journalists was their effrontery to contact him for the military’s side of the incident. In separate reactions to the journalists, an angry Lt Oworobo had described them as idiots and madmen, allegedly saying: “You’re an idiot. You’re a mad man. Why are you calling me? So I should report to you abi? Who are you to call me? If you ever call me in your life, I’ll deal mercilessly with you.”
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