Residents of Ogidigben in the coastal Ugborodo Federated Communities, in the Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest against alleged imminent threat to their lives following the release from detention of some suspects arrested in April, with assault rifles during an attack on the community.
The placard-carrying protesters raised the alarm that some of the suspects that were allegedly released have been threatening to launch a fresh attack on the community.
They called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, as well as security agencies to, “as a matter of urgency, wade in and effect a thorough investigation of the circumstances leading to the release of the suspects in the first instance, to prevent a fresh outbreak of violence in the area”.
The protesters anchored their grievances on a viral video in circulation purportedly showing one of the suspects arrested after the April 6, 2026 attack on the community, boasting that his group would return to invade Ogidigben.
According to the protesters, “the community cannot afford another attack following the December 20, 2025 killing of an indigene, Emiko Onuwaje, about three months before armed men invaded the community”.
Their placards showed inscriptions such as, ‘The killers of Emiko Onuwaje cannot go unpunished’, ‘DG DSS, order your men to produce those arrested with arms in Ogidigben in April,’ ‘We now live in fear in Ogidigben’, as well as ‘Ogidigben people cannot afford a third armed attack’, among others.
The spokesman for the community and Vice Chairman of the Ugborodo Community Management Committee (UCMC), Elder Austin Ajuremisan said the community’s confidence in its safety had been shaken “following the alleged release of suspects apprehended during the April attack”.
He said, “We are still mourning the loss of our brother, Emiko Onuwaje, who was killed on December 20, 2025. Then, on April 6, 2026 armed men invaded this community. When security personnel arrived, some of the attackers lost their way because they were unfamiliar with the terrain.
“The youths, working with the military, apprehended some of them with arms and ammunition.
“Few days ago, a video surfaced online showing one of those arrested boasting that they would return to attack this community. That is why we are protesting today. We are no longer safe; our lives are in danger.
“We handed the suspects over to the army for investigation.
We are calling on the President, the governor and all security agencies to bring those responsible to justice before another tragedy occurs.”
Also, the National Youth Association Secretary of the UCMC, Jerry Iyonsi, said, “The community remained traumatised by the April invasion, during which armed suspects were arrested with sophisticated weapons”.
The UCMC women leader, Caroline Ekuanjemi, said “mothers and families in the community have been sleeping with one eye open owing to the recurring violence.
“We appeal to President Tinubu and Governor Oborevwori to come to our rescue. Nobody should die again. We are not safe. If people arrested with guns could be released and are now threatening to return, I fear for what may happen next.”
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