In the wee hours of August 4, 2008, the people of Agge, a bustling
fishing and business town on the tip of the Atlantic Ocean woke up to the
unwanted visit of hundreds of armed troops of the Joint Task Force tagged
'Operation Restore Hope'. One hour later the entire town with a population of
about 4,000 was turned into a massive bonfire.
Residents say over 500 houses were burnt down.
SHOLA O'NEIL, who visited the town hours after the incident five years
ago, returned to the scene of the destruction.
When our reporter returned to Agge, Kou Kingdom in Ekeremor
Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on Tuesday morning relics of the
devastation of half a decade ago dotted the landscape.
Stumps of burnt houses littered the ground. Most victims who
have rebuilt their homes used fire-bronzed zinc sheets savaged from what was
left of their old houses. Others mixed them with new ones to create an
admixture that is neither new nor old houses. An indigene told our reporter
"our houses are not new, they are not old; they are confused like
us."
Most of the victims still sleep in the open - some inside the
wreckage of their former homes or under roofs hurriedly thrown over them. In
place of masses of charred roofing sheets, verdure grasses have sprouted.
In spite of their collective and individual misfortunes, the
entrepreneurial spirit and zeal of these Ijaw people remain strong. New shops
have sprung up on the same spot where older more stocked ones were either burnt
or looted, five years ago. Music still blares from giant speakers in some
houses. But their lives will never be the same again.
"We are determined to carry on with our lives," one
resident said.
The Amananawei (traditional ruler), His Royal Highness David
Isiaye, Itorogidi I of Agge and its federated communities, told our reporter
that the schools in the town are deserted because teachers have absconded due
to lack of accommodation.
Chief Clement Korus, father of 32 children - one of which has
just graduated from the University of Port Harcourt - from four wives was one
of the worst hit. Our reporter met him mending fishing nets and gears and
cleaning his fishing boat fitted with 45 horsepower outboard engine.
The renowned fisherman said his entire assets, property and
business worth over N30 million were extinguished within the blink of an eye.
He is one of hundreds like him left to pick up the pieces of broken lives.
"I lost nine houses, including my hotel," he told
our report in a deep baritone voice. "I only managed to rebuild one of the
houses since that incident. I had three fishing boats like this; they were all burnt.
Now I have just one boat that I bought with a loan from a cooperative society.
I pay interest monthly and that is affecting me," he said.
Korus said his dislocated family were yet to recover from the
trauma and pains from the incident. "My wives were scattered; one went to
Ogulagha to live with her parents, the others went to Ogbeintu etc. That was
how we managed to weather the storm."
Nevertheless, HRH Isiaye said his people were grateful that
nobody died from the accident. "If they (soldiers) had wanted to kill us,
they would have done so; but we thank them for sparing our lives, not for
reducing my entire clan to ashes and visiting poverty on my people."
Recalling the sad day, the monarch said the troops came and
encompassed the town as early as 6am. "They fired heavy mortar and shells
into the air to scare away the people. The lucky ones were able to make it to
their boats and scamper to nearby communities including Ogbeintu, Amazor and
Amatu.
"Women with children on their back had to rely on their
swimming skills to cross the river to safety. Children who were able to swim
were left to fend for themselves while the young and old were either ferried on
the back or helped to waddle to safety.
"The soldiers did not shoot anybody. But two days after,
Youmo Mietuade died from heart related ailment as his blood pressure shot up
during the invasion and he could not survive," HRH Isiaye recalled.
A member of Agge Community
White: military tagged the youths militants in order to invade and plunder it..Photo Shola O'Neil
For Mrs Iyadefegha Alfred, beyond the loss of property, cash
and her home, the destruction of her childhood memorabilia and those of her
children is very painful.
Speaking in Pidgin English spattered with Ijaw, she said,
"All the black and white pictures that I had of my children, the handmade
toys, the history and heirloom that my family handed down over the years are
gone. They may not be worth much money but they are very expensive in terms of
who I am. I intended to hand them over to my children as my mother did to
me."
Not all the victims were lucky to lose their own assets. Mr
Paul Ogedegbe, a famous outboard engineer mechanic in the area lost items worth
over N50m, most of which belonged to his clients not only from the town, but
from other riverside communities.
"I have customers from everywhere," he told our
reporter in his new workshop in the town. "I was thrown into debt because
nearly 20 (outboard) engines that were burnt in my workshop belonged to my
client. Some of them were understanding and knew that it wasn’t my fault,
others were not willing to listen to that excuse," he said.
Col Rabe Abubakar, who was Joint Media Campaign Coordinator
of the JTF in 2008, told newsmen that
the operation was targeted at illegal bunkering syndicate in the town.
Col Abubakar denied that houses were burnt, insisting that
the few houses razed down were those used to store illegally refined crude oil.
The
Nation's exclusive report and photographs of August 16, 2008, however,
showed that hundreds of houses were burnt down.
The traditional ruler lamented to Niger Delta Report on
Tuesday that the invasion of Agge by the JTF was based on flawed
"intelligence report" that the town harboured illegal bunkerers and
militants.
"Look around this town, do you see any sign of such
opulence and wealth that illegal bunkering brings. We are poor people who work
hard for everything that we get. When the soldiers came, no single shot was
fired from this town because we do not have arms," he added.
A local youth named Agge White said the soldiers merely gave
the town a bad name to hang it.
"They say we are militants, criminals and illegal
bunkerers." Pointing to a military post nearby, he said, "That
houseboat with soldiers was there when they burnt down Agge. It was there years
before it. How can we engage in illegal bunkering with those soldiers breathing
down our necks? This should tell you something."
It did.
Our investigation revealed that all boats, including
passengers boat, passing the Ramos River
are subjected to search by troops stationed at a comfy houseboats near the town.
Oil industry experts say that it was impossible for bunkerers to operation in
the area without 'settling' the soldiers there.
"Crude oil is not stolen with brief case; it is
transported with barges and vessels. Even speedboats that pass through the
river have to go close to the houseboat of the soldiers for clearance. So, it
is impossible to steal crude oil or engage in illegal bunkering if the soldiers
there do not allow it," our source, who asked not to be named, said.
High Chief Smith Mientuade, Tonkepa of Kou Kingdom, also
flayed the attack, likening it to setting an entire building on fire to kill a
tiny rat. The titleholder whose two wives lost houses regretted that no effort
had been made the Federal Government to rebuild the town, five years on.
Also speaking, the Secretary of the Traditional Council, High
Chief Lawrence Orukeme lamented that several petitions to the government failed
to yield any meaningful result. "Our people are still left to suffer for
sins they did not commit."
Mr. Timi Etuele, secretary to the monarch revealed that
relief materials sent by then Governor Timipre Sylva were grossly insufficient.
"What they gave even caused problems in the community because it set
brothers against themselves. When people are hungry and desperate, tempers are
usually short and angers are high."
Besides, sources said a prominent politician from LG council
was accused of confiscating some of the relief materials, including outboard
engines to her personal property.
Why Is
Government So Wicked?
The anger of the traumatised people was unabated five years
after. Monday Lugbeinwe, who lost property worth millions of naira is one of
those yet unable to rebuild his house. His relatives said he has been turned
into an itinerant man. He was was on a religious retreat in Lagos when the
incident occurred.
Chief Williams Isiaye and Samuel Alla, among other victims decried
the perceived abandonment of their community by the government.
Led by their monarch in protest, they said, "We did not
commit any crime before they burnt down Agge. Today, communities in Gbaramatu
and Ayakoromor (in Warri South West and Burutu local government areas of Delta
State) that were razed as a result of militancy have been rebuilt."
The Amananawei lamented that government rebuilt those
communities whose indigenes took up arms against the nation at various times
but abandoned those who were victim of JTF's aggression.
"Those other communities were targeted because of some
specific persons. In Ayakoromor it was John Togo, in Gbaramatu it was Tompolo.
These persons were accused of killing soldiers, destroying the nation's assets
yet their communities have been rebuilt because government appreciated that it
was not the action of the entire community.
"We did neither; we were victims of flaw intelligence
report. Still five years after not even a brick has been laid in Agge. Why the
double standard? This is an injustice that they comfortably forget," he
added.
Mr Osteen Igbapike, a lawyer and legal representative of the
community, told our reporter on telephone that they might resolve to legal
action if efforts to get the relevant authorities to rebuild Agge fail.
"We are encouraged by the recent Odi judgment. We can
seek to enforce our fundamental human rights. Before then, we are appealing and
begging movement to rebuild our town."
Igbapike decried the attitude of the various levels of
government to the plight of Agge people.
Igbapike
"We are located on the fringe of the Bight of Benin. May
be because we are far from government, they forget that we are a part of
Nigeria. It is painful to note that a town of Agge statue lacks any form of
government presence," he stated.
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