The elder statesman, however, said the army later apologised
to him.
“At about 6 pm on Saturday, 23rd March 2024, I got a
telephone call from someone who identified himself as the commanding officer of
the Nigerian Army division in Port Harcourt,” Clark said.
“He said that a tracker of the Nigerian Army had tracked one
Mr. Vote, the community chairman of Okuoma community whom the army was looking
for in respect of the killings of the 17 men of the Nigerian Army, to a house
in Ughelli and that the military men had broken into the house, ransacked it
before they were informed that the house belongs to me, that he was very sorry
and apologising to me on behalf of the army.
“In my usual way and
as a leader who is expected to condone as much as possible, I accepted his
apology wholeheartedly but told him that I do not own a house in Ughelli, that
the house he is referring to could be my father’s.
“I went on to sympathise with the Nigerian Army over the
gruesome murder of the soldier, an action I had condemned severally the moment
I heard of it in the news.
“I assured him that we would all work within our powers to
avail the security agencies with any available information that would unravel
the whole thing and bring the perpetrators to book. We ended the discussion on
a cordial note.
“It was not long after that, I was inundated with calls from
my home, Kiagbodo, telling me how the army had invaded my country home by land
and by air. They came in about 5 trucks loaded with armed soldiers numbering
between 30 and 40.
“They used their legs
to break open all the doors in the compound, including the security door to my
sitting room which was locked because I reside in Abuja. At the same time,
flying their drone within the premises.
“Some of them went to the buildings behind the main house
and also broke all the doors that were locked. They marched out my staff living
in those buildings, including lecturers at the university, and made them sit on
bare ground.”
‘MY BROTHER’S SON WAS
STRIPPED NAKED’
Clark said the soldiers also raided the home of his late
brother, Akporode Blessing Clark, who was a former Nigerian permanent
representative to the United Nations (UN).
“They brought out his
son almost naked. The young man was taking a bath when they stormed the house,”
the elder statesman said.
“All their phones were seized. The people had to identify
themselves and tell them whose house it was before they asked for my telephone
number, which they said they would pass to their ‘oga’ before they all
departed.
“One would have expected that at this juncture, a call could
have been put to the governor of Delta state to inform him of what happened.
“I immediately called back the commanding officer to tell
him of the actions of his men. And he said he was aware and that was why he
called to apologise.
“Before continuing,
let me play the devil’s advocate by stating that the army may not know that the
house they went to in Kiagbodo is my country home.”
Clark cautioned military authority against “disrespectful
and unlawful” operations.
“I deserve to be respected, left to live in peace, safety
and tranquillity. I have very high regard for the Nigerian Army,” he said.
