Over 18 years ago, precisely on November 20, 1999, the Nigerian military, acting on the orders of then President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, invaded Odi, a predominantly Ijaw community in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, and wreaked monumental havoc on the community.
The attack, which many observers have described as a pogrom, came at a time when there was conflict in the oil-rich Niger Delta region over widespread agitations for oil resources control and environmental protection.
Prior to the incident, there were reports that some armed bandits murdered 12 police officers close to Odi. Unconfirmed reports also said military personnel deployed in the community were ambushed close to the town, which increased tension in the area. The soldiers broke through the ambush and exchanged gunfire with the armed bandits in the town, which further escalated the tension.
In retaliation, the military, allegedly on the orders of Obasanjo, invaded the town and leveled the community. In the course of the invasion, many people were killed while most of the houses in the community were set ablaze.
While the Federal Government put the casualty figure at 43, some reports said about 2,500 civilians were killed.
The matter became a matter of litigation and N37.6bn damages was awarded in favour of the community against the government by the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt. In 2014, the Federal Government reached an agreement with the community and N15bn was eventually paid. That also created a conflict in the community, as the chairman of the negotiation committee was kidnapped and held in captivity for some days.
In this interview with SIMON UTEBOR, an indigene of Odi, Mr. Tari Bolou, a two-time commissioner in the state and council chairman during the massacre in 1999, recounts their ordeal during the period
What really comes to your mind when you remember the Odi massacre?
My mind always bleeds whenever I remember. The massacre that took place in Odi, a predominantly Ijaw community community, is better imagined than remembered. On that day in 1999, it appeared that the entire military, the entire security forces of this country came to unleash mayhem on the community. They (military) took over the entire area from Mbiama down to Patani. There was a total lockdown. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was the President of the country then. To shed more light on that incident, I wish to state here that Odi people never converged anywhere and planned to kill policemen, no, it was not so. We are a peace-loving people; we are travellers and we are enlightened. The cause of the problem actually started with one Mr. Jokotola, a police area commander, said to have come from Abeokuta, the same local government as our former president (Obasanjo).
The then area commander destroyed a place called ‘Black Market’ in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital. During the destruction of the market, he allegedly killed some persons. As a result of that, so many people escaped and some of the escapees went to Odi. On a particular day, he said he was going to visit Odi. When he drove to Kaiama, we learnt that the Divisional Police Officer in Kaiama told him not to go to Odi and that there were some rough boys there. But he (Jokotola) refused to heed to the DPO’s advice. The area commander, on getting to the Mobile Police Command at Kaiama, was advised by the MOPOL commander, as we learnt, not to go to Odi and that he would not go with him. But he refused and went to Odi. When he got to the College Junction in Odi, those boys that ran from him in Yenagoa after killing their colleagues were there. They had laid an ambush for him. They caught him. One of the hoodlums, simply called Ken, retorted, ‘This is the Jokotola that made me to be alone in this world. We were six in my family, but today, I am the only existing child of my mother. Since I have seen you today, I will kill you and kill myself. You will kill me or I will kill you.’
The DPO at Kaiama was an Odoni man, our brother. He had a stroke and his health had deteriorated. When the police were torturing some hoodlums arrested earlier, the DPO collapsed and died. They (hoodlums) said, ‘If our brother has died, then all of you will die.’ So, they killed them (Jokotola and a few policemen). Thereafter, Obasanjo decided to avenge the death of his kinsman. He sent the military to level Odi, a small community.
How small is Odi?
Well, Odi is a growing community. Day in and day out, our daughters are giving birth, so let me say both home and abroad and everywhere, we should be about 200,000 persons.
Where were you on that fateful day?
During that incident, I was the Vice Chairman-elect of the Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area. I had come to Yenagoa to see my family. The government unleashed military terror on my people. They killed both young and the old, raped our mothers and daughters, looted property worth billions of Naira and burnt down all the buildings. That was the peak of man’s inhumanity to man. It was a complete genocide. They were shooting and shelling from all corners – Kaiama bridgehead, Odi junction, Patani. The innocent people that were travelling were caught in the sporadic shooting. They killed all of them.
The Senate visited then, what was their response to the incident?
When our brother, the late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, of blessed memory, a former Senate President, visited, there was no road to pass through to the community. Okadigbo begged them (military) to open the road before he could go into the Odi community. When he and his team including former Senate President David Mark got there, they saw a lot of decomposing corpses litter the entire area. I could remember, David Mark, wept. I saw him weeping as a child because of the destruction and the level of killings that took place. Okadigbo himself saw that the soldiers were not friendly. When Okadigbo wanted to move to the market square area, the soldiers asked him not to go further. The security forces were furious, pulling their triggers to shoot on sight. So, Okadigbo urged those that came with him to leave and that he would join them later. The soldiers, led by one Colonel Agbabiaka, even seized the media vehicles that accompanied Okadigbo. The soldiers were so ferocious that they did not allow any of the residents to leave Odi. They did not allow anybody to go into Odi as well. It was that bad.
How many days did the military occupation last in Odi?
Days? I am saying that they stayed there for months and used about three weeks to burn down all the buildings. Almost all the security forces were stationed in Odi, a small community!
We felt bad that Obasanjo who we all voted for at that time allegedly carried out such a pogrom in our community. On March 15th, 2001, when Obasanjo came, I was the one that delivered the keynote address. At that time, I was the Executive Chairman of the local government.
What was contained in your keynote address?
As the chairman of LGA that comprised Odi, I requested for a compensation of N25bn as of then. When Obasanjo visited, he never gave us any good answer. At last, he (Obasanjo) said, ‘Let this not repeat itself. If it repeats itself, we will come by sea, by road, by air and I will not be there to control my boys. However, if Prof. Isoun rebuilds his house, I will come and spend my weekend in Odi.’
During Obasanjo’s visit, it was only former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and myself that were allowed to address the people. Up until today, Odi is no longer the same. We are just mere remnants. But no matter what, Odi’s name will never be removed from the map of this state, and from the map of Nigeria as a few of us are still in existence.
Do you have any statistics on the number of people that were killed during the massacre?
A lot of people died. Even the King of Odi, who was my father’s immediate elder brother, was killed during the invasion. The king was killed when he told the military that the building they were about to burn was his younger brother’s own. When he appealed to them not to burn the building, the soldiers pushed him down and shot him in his leg and he died eventually. With that and many other incidents, you could see that those trigger-happy soldiers did not respect the traditional authority; they shot and killed the king. They killed aged people and countless young people.
Apart from killing our people, many were severely tortured. They handled our people with ‘diamond hands’. I use diamond because it is the strongest substance in this world and we were handled like that. That sad event reminds me of the fate of the minorities in this country – they actually do not have people to save them in case of a situation like the Odi massacre.
But what was the actual cause of the disagreements between the Odi people and the security personnel?
To be candid, we did not have any disagreement with the security forces. In the Odi community, everybody goes about their normal business. We have the Federal Government College; we have some government parastatals such as the Bioresource Centre. Hausa people are there; Fulani people and other tribes are there. It is a peaceful community and everybody is peaceful.
I must say in all honesty that we did not have any disagreement with any military or police personnel. For the group of the boys that committed the havoc against the police, instead of the security personnel to look for the culprits, they came and destroyed the whole community. How many times have the police personnel been killed in Lagos? Have they killed the people living in the state? What about in the North? But our case was treated in a different fashion. It is not fair.
The report then was that the people killed about 12 policemen and that was why the government of the day was furious and decided to punish them?
No. It is not true. That is what I am saying: If they kill policemen in Lagos, does it mean that the whole of Lagos State will come together, hold a meeting to kill? No, there were people who did it. That is why we have the police, that’s why we have the DSS, that’s why we have the military intelligence, the military police and others. What they ought to have done was to look for the culprits and punish them. But that invasion and massacre was a punishment to everybody.
In Odi, as a community, we don’t go anywhere to hold meetings to kill people; the strangers that were in Odi caused that havoc. Let me reiterate here that an incident happened. It sure happened. The area commander, Jokotola, as I said earlier, killed some persons in the Black Market in Yenagoa. The escapees, most of whom were not from Odi, caused the havoc. Even the leader of the hoodlums, Ken, wasn’t from Odi.
Would you blame the military for that action especially when some policemen were killed and their men ambushed?
Yes, I blame the military totally. The invasion and massacre were uncalled for. That is why I said they should have deployed military intelligence to fish out the perpetrators instead of killing the entire community. Even the Biafrans that fought with Nigeria were not treated the way they treated Odi people.
We learnt that many buildings were set ablaze excluding banks, the Anglican Church and schools. Is that assumption correct?
Yes, it is correct. The First Bank in the community was spared. The military rather guarded the bank. The Anglican Church was not torched but the military torched the Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation halls. Schools were also left out. Apart from those buildings, every other building was reduced to the rubble. The buildings destroyed were numerous.
When Obasanjo came, can you recollect the request you placed before him?
Yes, I asked Obasanjo during my address that he should build 500 one-bedroomed apartments; 500 two- bedroomed apartments; 500 three- bedroomed apartments and 1,000 storey buildings and duplexes. That was the request I made as the council boss then.
If all the buildings in the community were razed as you claimed, how were the people able to rebuild them?
At that point, the state government led by Alamieyeseigha put up some emergency buildings to accommodate those that remained after the pogrom. He hurriedly constructed some buildings and makeshift houses where our people relocated to in the interim.
Would you know the number of casualties in the Odi massacre?
There were varied figures of casualties. The government said only 43 people died including eight soldiers, but some people said 2,500 civilians were killed.
Whose report do you believe?
Both accounts are not correct. They killed many people, much more than the estimation. As I said, they even killed a lot of people at the Odi junction. It was that bad that anybody found to have tribal marks on his chest was slaughtered. You will recollect that they occupied our community for months. You can imagine the number of people they could have killed. The figures being bandied are far from the truth. It was a widespread massacre.
So the people could not run away from the soldiers?
They could not leave the place in time. The soldiers took it as a duty to kill people every morning and night. The orgy of killings spread to the East-West Road, too. It was difficult to run because the soldiers were everywhere. They took over everywhere including the forest. That was why many people were killed. It became worse when the then Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Victor Malu, directed the soldiers to kill all of us.
Would you say it is wicked or mischievous to say only 43 people died as claimed by the government?
Yes. I tell you, the soldiers were there for months, wreaking havoc on our people. It was not a joke. Many of our people were killed.
Are you saying there was no category of persons that were spared from killing by the soldiers?
There was no category that was spared. If they could kill a 93-year-old person, who would they spare? I tell you, they killed all categories of people. Only children were spared somehow.
It was learnt in some quarters that about 5,000 troops were deployed in the area on that day. Do you think the figure is correct or otherwise?
As far as I know, the troops I saw from Mbiama down to Patani were more than 15,000. I am saying that a large number of security departments of the whole country were here in Odi. They came with a mission to eliminate the community and they did just that. The troops were much more than 5,000 from what I saw.
After the invasion, how many corpses were you people able to count?
The corpses were uncountable. My first job as Chairman of Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA was to bury people. At that time, no one could sleep in Odi because of pollution from dead bodies. We had to organise series of prayers and fasting to cleanse the land. All the roads, every corner of the community were littered with corpses. It was an episode that cannot be forgotten for a very long time. It will remain evergreen in our memories as far as you are a son or daughter of Odi community.
Were there people who never saw family members till date?
Yes, a lot of people, a lot of them.
The court ordered that that N37.6bn should go to the community as compensation. But the Federal Government has so far paid N15bn? What is the true situation?
Well, the court ordered that N37.6bn should be paid to our people. During the reign of our kinsman, former President Goodluck Jonathan, the government paid N15bn. Out of the N15bn, the lawyers took N6bn and the community shared N9bn. Up until now, the remaining amount has not been paid. The payment of that money actually brought some rift in the community such that the chairman of the settlement committee was kidnapped.
What caused the conflict after the payment?
As regards the payment, there were some clauses that those (Odi indigenes) that were not staying at Odi during that time were to be given N300,000 each while those residing in Odi were paid N500,000. I think the disparity did not go down well with some persons. Also, during the settlement, owners of some buildings, like storey-buildings were paid N5m; block buildings, N3m and owners of bungalows were paid N1m, among others.
Was any of your buildings destroyed?
My father’s building was destroyed.
How much did they pay?
I think N1m. It was a bungalow.
Since the N15bn was paid, what has it been used for?
The committee that was handling the payment wasn’t strong enough to face the youth. At a point, some youths wanted the entire money to be shared. The committee members did not agree that the total money should be shared. They wanted some fraction to be left for development of the community but the youth refused. The youth even stoned some committee members. Due to that, the people agreed that the money should be divided compound by compound. That was how they divided the money but I know the majority benefited and most of them managed to build small houses. We give kudos to Jonathan. We are indeed very grateful to him.
You are invariably saying that the money was used for the betterment of the community?
Yes, when you are paid, if you make use of your money, it’s for your own credit. They paid cash and people used it for their own development.
But could you say that the N15bn was judiciously used or did some people help themselves with it?
I won’t make any comment on that. Let it be known that out of the N15bn, N6bn went to the lawyers and the community shared N9bn. They said they did the case out of their pockets and that the community didn’t pay a dime during the court proceedings. They (lawyers) contended that they took the bull by the horn, went to court and won the compensation for the community hence they collected N6 bn.
How many lawyers were involved?
I can’t remember the number of lawyers. It was a group of people that connected them.
We learnt that the house built by David Mark was destroyed…
The house built by Senator David Mark for his in-laws was destroyed. Being our in-law, there was a time he lost his father-in-law and he put up a building, a five bedroomed bungalow. That building was also destroyed by soldiers during the invasion.
Since the money has been paid to Odi, do you think the Odi people have forgiven the Federal Government?
Yes, to some extent. We would have loved it if the remaining part had been paid. If that is done, of course, we will forgive the Federal Government completely.
Have you people forgiven Obasanjo or you feel no amount of settlement can make up for the loss of lives?
Well, it is said that to err is human and to forgive is divine. We have forgiven him, it’s a human error. If we have not forgiven, maybe by now, this community would have started a tribal war against the Yoruba. But we didn’t do that. We have forgiven him. It is a lesson the incident has taught us but I pray that no person will pursue such an agenda in this country again. Whoever that has done wrong, look for that person and punish the person, not the generality of the people. It’s very uncalled for and this cannot happen in advanced countries.
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