A Mother, A baby, others reported dead as Military invades Bayelsa community.

A Mother, A baby, others reported dead as Military invades Bayelsa community.

• Community leaders chides Military, calls on Govt, CLOs, to investigate.

About four innocent civilians including a mother and her few months old baby in Oluasiri community, Nembe local government area of Bayelsa state, are reported dead in what the community described was an invasion by the Nigerian military, at the early hours of yesterday 7th June.

This was contained in a joint statement made available to Bodmas kemepadei, signed by the President of Oluasiri Development Union, Deacon Gamage Difurotogu, and the President of Oluasiri Youth Federation, Kienworio Tanga

The statement described as "reckless and nefarious" the wanton invasion of Ben-Ama and Tengele-Ama by the Nigerian Military, which they said reportedly left four persons dead and several others critically wounded.

The people are calling on the Federal Government and Civil Liberty Organisations (CLO) to carry out an investigation in order to unravel the mysteries behind the ugly incident.

According to the statement, "The people of Oluasiri Clan in Nembe Local Government Area hereby condemn in its entirety the inexplicable invasion of Ben-Ama and Tengele-Ama in the early hours of today, June 7th, 2018 by the Nigerian Military which led to the death of four innocent persons, including a mother and her little baby and several others critically injured.

"We find it stark reckless and nefarious for the military to invade hitherto peaceful communities with six gunboats, causing undue pandemonium, all in the name of searching for suspected criminals in the area."

The statement stressed that the people of the affected communities are law-abiding citizens, noting that it was malicious for security agents to carry out the act.

"We wish to call on the Federal Government and Civil Liberty Organisations (CLO), to urgently investigate Wednesday's operations by the military, with a view to bringing errant soldiers to book.

"Moving forward, we urge the Nigerian military to go and search for the criminals at their various hideouts in the creeks, as no Oluasiri community is a safe haven to criminals.

"We wish to state categorically that the people of Oluasiri are always ready to support the Nigerian military and other security agencies in the fight against oil bunkering, sea piracy and kidnapping, but only plead that such should be done in complete adherence to international best practices, while upholding the sanctity of human life," the statement reads in part.

The statement further commiserated with family of the affected victims, while enjoining the people of Oluasiri not to take laws into their hands.

©Bodmas P. kemepadei is a known blogger, writer, online media practitioner, media consultant, digital marketer, publicist and online content promoter with a wide coverage cutting across the country and beyond. Reach me@08028679931