Invading soldiers retreat as Gbaramatu women confront them

In what could be said to be an act of bravery, women in Oporoza, the traditional haedquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South West Loval Government Area of Delta State, on Saturday prevented soldiers from carrying out another invasion of their community.

The soldiers were in the area in continuation of their renewed onslaught on militants in the Niger Delta region.

The visit of the soldiers took them to Oporoza, Okerenkoko, Nekeama and Tebujor, all in Gbaramatu.

Oporoza, the home town of wanted ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo, has been the subject of incessant invasion by the military in the recent past as the Federal Government strives to bring militants that have been attacking oil and gas installations to book.

Saturday’s visit by soldiers was however met with stiff resistance by a spontaneous action by women from Oporoza and those from neighboring Azama village, who decried the seeming incessant harassment by law enforcement agents.

Giving an account of the face off between the soldiers and Oporoza women, the Ibe-Benemowei of Gbaramatu Kingdom and acting Secretary of the Gbaramatu Traditional Council, GTC, Chief Godspower Gbenekama, said the soldiers invaded Oporoza with two gunboats and their gunboats got stuck in the waterfront.

“They stayed there battling to free their boats and the women mobilized to meet and tell them that they were tired of their frequent invasion of the community.”

According to Gbenekama, the women told the soldiers that they could not run anymore and that they were tired and if they wanted to kill them, they should do so.

“The soldiers told them that they had come to guard pipelines and they replied them that there is no pipeline running in Oporoza and they should go into the creeks where the pipelines are, instead of constantly coming to harass them.

“The women told the soldiers that they had been coming to arrest their children and sometime ago, they brought back the ones they arrested. So, why are they coming to arrest them again.”

The soldiers reportedly said they did not have to take permission from them before entering the community, as the people do not need to take permission from anybody whenever they want to enter Abuja, while the women replied saying they do not go to Abuja with arms and for the purpose of intimidating people, but to complain about their plight.

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The insistence of the women made the soldiers turn back after freeing their gunboats and entered Mekama creek and later landed at the community’s waterfront.

“From there, they went again to Tebujor, which they invaded last Saturday. They went to the waterfront and the women of the community also mobilized to meet them there. The women told them that their frequent presence in the community was disturbing them.

“As they went to each of the communities, they created panic and people ran into the forest. There was tension everywhere. When they left Tebujor, they went to Okerenkoko and stayed on the waterfront for about 45 minutes.

“The women did not come out to express their grievances as their Oporoza and Tebujor counterparts, not because they were not angry, but because they were brooding over the provocation.

“We do not really know why this is happening to us in Gbaramatu Kingdom, but we are beginning to see reason why they deployed houseboats at strategic locations in the clan recently. I can see that it is for them to be able to harass us on daily basis.

“Some of the boys, who called me on phone, said they were not going to run anymore because they were tired of the frequent incursions. They said they were ready to face the consequences and I told them no, that they should run as fast as their legs could carry them into the forest when they sight them coming”, Gbenekama said.
By Timothy Enietan-Matthews….

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