At a time when normalcy appears to be returning to troubled Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta, President-General of Ewu Kingdom, Prof. Arthur Ekpekpo, and some leaders of the community have been arrested by men in military uniform.
Professor Ekpokpo said to have earlier declared wanted, was reportedly arrested at an undisclosed location in Sapele on Sunday night while his whereabouts are still unknown.
Other arrested leaders of the embattled community are Chief Belvis Adogbo and Dennis Akugbaye.
They were reportedly apprehended on Monday morning by armed men in plain clothes at various locations in Ughelli.
An Okuama community leader who would not disclose his identity said the gale of arrests might not be unconnected to the March 2024 incident which led to the brutal killing of 17 military personnel.
According to him, members of the community are aghast over the arrest as they are also in the dark over reasons for the arrest by security agents suspected to be operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS).
No official statement on the arrest has emerged from security agencies including the Delta State Police Command.
Okuama community, it will be recalled, was reduced to rubble by soldiers of the Nigerian Army after 17 officers and soldiers were neutralised by yet-to-be-ascertained gunmen.
The military personnel were said to be on a peace mission to Okuama in March over communal killings that followed a land brawl between Okuama and Okoloba communities.
The arrests are, however, coming at a time when the Delta State government has commenced a reconstruction and resettlement of dispersed indigenes who now take shelter at an IDP camp.