Niger Delta youth hail Odi court decision

Posted by admin Bayelsa, Headlines, Niger Delta, State News Sunday, February 24th, 2013

YOUTHS in the Niger Delta region have lauded the court ruling that ordered that compensation be paid to the people of Odi community in Bayelsa State for the invasion of the area.

Soldiers had in November 1999 invaded Odi and killed many innocent indigenes of the community.

The youths, who spoke under the auspices of the Niger Delta Youth Parliament, said the judgment would serve as a deterrent to leaders who preferred to take the law into their hands.

National Coordinator of the NDYP, Mr. Imoh Okoko, explained that the people of Odi had waited for justice for a long time, adding that the court ruling had vindicated the people of the area.

Speaking in a telephone interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, Okoko expressed regret that soldiers could move against harmless and defenceless people of a community without considering the sacredness of life.

He described the military action in Odi about 13 years ago as an attempt to wipe away a community.

“Many women were turned to widows overnight while some men in Odi became widowers. A whole village was almost wiped off the face of the earth in 1999 by soldiers and everybody kept silent. That is not fair,” Okoko added.

Advising Nigerian leaders to always give peace a chance, Okoko argued that it was wrong for former President Olusegun Obasanjo to have ordered the invasion of Odi community.

-Via Vanguardwp_posts