The wife of the King of Ewu Kingdom, Ugonwa Onwuneme Ikolo, has asserted that her spouse, Clement Ikolo, was not informed about the arrival of the 17 soldiers in Okuama for a peacekeeping mission on that day. She contends that it is unjust to solely blame him for incidents within his jurisdiction, emphasizing that he is not the sole community leader in Okuama kingdom.
( picture used for illustrative purpose )
Critiquing the lack of procedural fairness, she condemned the decision to label her husband as wanted without affording him the opportunity to address the accusations. Contrary to assertions of evasion, she disclosed that her husband had recently paid a visit to the Delta state police command as part of a courtesy call to the Commissioner of Police, yet received no instruction to surrender himself.
( Photo credit : Arise Television Official Facebook Page )
Speaking in an interview with Arise TV, she remarked, "They are holding him responsible because it is one of the communities that make up his kingdom. He's not the only community leader in that kingdom. But my husband was not informed that these soldiers were coming to that area that day. Was even the local government chairman involved or even told that these soldiers were going on peacekeeping missions? These are questions that we need to be asking. It is not okay to declare an innocent man wanted without even giving him the right to reply. They have not even invited him to their own office. And just last week he went to the Delta state police command on a courtesy call to the CP, at no time was he told to turn himself in. If you say you are looking for somebody, the governor of the state is the Chief Security Officer, you could have asked the governor to produce him.''
Clement Ikolo, the recently appointed Ovie of Ewu-Urhobo Kingdom in Ughelli South Local Government area of Delta State, was among the eight individuals declared wanted by the defense headquarters following the March 14th tragedy, wherein 17 officers and soldiers were slain during a peace mission in Okuama community, Delta State.
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