A Former Commander of Operation Safe Haven, Major General Augustine Agundu has alleged that the reported burning of some houses in Okuama after the killing of 16 soldiers in the community is not the work of the military.
He asserted that established rules of engagement and standard operating procedures are in place, with widespread awareness of their contents among military personnel. He argued that criminal gangs often burn down houses as a decoy to escape from a community after their attack.
Although it has not been substantiated whether some military men were responsible for the burning of houses in Okuama. However, a lot of human rights activists have warned against a repetition of Odi Massacre in this case.
He said in an interview with Channels TV, ”Organized criminal gangs have laid siege on certain communities and when they are escaping, we see the level of crime that they will commit. So that they will lay the claim on a government institution. The burning of the houses in Okuama community is not the hand work of the Military. We have the rules of engagement, and we have standard operating procedure, and everybody knows the content of this document.”
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