Governors of the South-South states under the auspices of the BRACED commission has begged the military to allow Okuama villagers to return home and resume their normal life.
The governors’ appeal was contained in a communique issued at the end of their 12th meeting held on Tuesday, at the Government House, Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.
The governors in the communique read by Edo state Governor Godwin Obaseki, equally condemned the March 14 killing of 17 military officers at Okuama community in Delta State and expressed its condolences to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the military hierarchy and especially to the families of the slain officers.
They urged the Federal Government to set up a high-powered commission of inquiry to unearth what transpired in order to avoid such occurrences in future.
They also called on the government to properly define the missions of the troops deployed to the region, stating that involvement in community, boundary, business or family disputes should not be part of the military operational mission.
The meeting, which was hosted by Governor Douye Diri, had in attendance the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, the deputy governor of Delta State, Monday Onyeme and his Akwa Ibom counterpart, Senator Akon Eyakenyi.
Rivers State governor, Siminalaye Fubara, sent two representatives to the meeting.
Brace is an acronym for Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Cross Rivers, Edo and Delta states.
