Delta, Nigeria – Okuama community residents in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State have moved into the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp constructed for them at Okuama-Ewu in the Urhobo kingdom.

The relocation follows military action in the community after the killing of soldiers on a peace mission in March, which led to the displacement of several residents. To avoid being caught in the reprisals, many fled to the forest and neighbouring communities.

After a meeting with Okuama leaders at Government House in Asaba on Friday, buses were dispatched to transport the displaced residents from the agreed location to the camp.

Initially, the displaced residents had refused to move into the camp, citing that it was built outside their ancestral land. The state government, citing security and other reasons, declined their request to build the camp within their land. However, after Governor Sherrif Oborevwori’s first meeting with the community since the incident, he persuaded the leaders by promising to commence rebuilding the health centre and a six-classroom block in a few weeks.

Following the governor’s plea, the displaced men, women, and children of Okuama community arrived at the camp in buses for registration.

Pastor Edewor Ogedegbe, a displaced villager, expressed a sense of cautious optimism, saying, “We’re convinced Oborevwori means well. We told him why the displaced villagers resisted it (the camp) because of the underlying issues. He told us clearly that the government would address the matters systematically, and of course, gradually as well. Today, we are here, two buses have come and gone, and they are going back again, but I worried that when you talk about 200, it is a far cry from even the people that are coming only today.”