Okuama Killings: Ex-Bayelsa LG chair to testify against Nigerian military over wanted list saga

The Federal High Court in Abuja has permitted Lucky Okodeh, a former caretaker chairman, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, to testify in his N2 billion suit against the Nigerian Army.

The judge, Binta Nyako, gave the order on Wednesday after the applicant’s lawyer, Femi Falana, disagreed with the argument of the counsel for the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Mike Enahoro-Ebah, that the army did not, at any time, declare Mr Okodeh wanted.

Mr Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), submitted that there was a conflict of facts in the affidavits filed by parties before the judge, hence, the need for his client to clear the air on the matter through oral evidence.

He insisted that the Nigerian Army published the claimant’s photograph among those wanted in connection to the killing of 17 soldiers in Okuama in Delta State in March 2024.

He, therefore, urged the court to allow Mr Okodeh to appear to testify at the next sitting of the court.

Mr Enahoro-Ebah, however, opposed Mr Falana’s application.

The lawyer maintained that the COAS and the Nigerian Army did not declare Mr Okodeh wanted at any time.

He said the applicant was unknown to the COAS and by extension, the Nigerian Army.

He said Mr Okodeh was not a person of interest, hence, the suit was unnecessary.

He urged the court not to grant Mr Falana’s plea.

The judge, Mrs Nyako, in a ruling, granted Mr Falana’s application and adjourned the matter until 28 April for Okodeh to give his oral evidence.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Okodeh had filed the fundamental rights enforcement suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/590/24 against the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the COAS of the Nigerian Army.

Mr Okodeh, in the suit filed on 3 May 2024, the applicant accused the defendants of publishing his photograph among those wanted in connection to the killing of 17 soldiers in Okuama in Delta State.

He, therefore, urged the court to award N2 billion in damages against the respondents for the alleged violation of his rights to personal liberty and dignity.

The applicant also urged the court to set aside his declaration and award the fine as compensation for damages suffered over the action of the Defence Headquarters Abuja.

In the affidavit in support of the suit, Mr Okodeh said the action of the defendants had affected his political career and made him to go into hiding.

On 14 March 2024, officers of the Nigerian Army numbering 17 were murdered by unknown persons in Okuama in Delta State, causing the Defence Headquarters Abuja to declare eight persons wanted.

Mr Okodeh’s name appeared in the publication but without its name. His photograph was allegedly posted on a name which was not his, which he also said no member of his family or extended family bears.

Mr Okodeh, who was the chairmanship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 11 April 2024 local government elections in the state, was forced to drop out of the race. He was substituted with another person as PDP’s candidate for the election.

Other prayers sought in the suit include an order of perpetual injunction restraining the CDS and COAS from arresting him as he is a law-abiding citizen of Nigeria who had never had any criminal record right from childhood.

He equally asked the court to order the respondents to tender an apology which should be published on both print and electronic media, so that he could have his freedom to live his normal life.

In a counter-affidavit filed on 28 November 2024 in opposition to the suit, the COAS prayed the court to dismiss the suit for being speculative and hypothetical.

“On 14 March 2024, 17 officers and soldiers who were deployed on a peacekeeping mission in Okuama community, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, were gruesomely killed.

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“The 17 officers and soldiers killed, comprised a lieutenant colonel, two majors, one captain, and 13 soldiers,” the counter-affidavit stated.

It added that the COAS was aware of eight individuals who were persons of interest in the ongoing investigation connected to the killing.

It also said though the names and photographs of the eight individuals were published by the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, Mr Okodeh was not a person of interest.

(NAN)