Ebenezer Adurokiya, Warri
Fresh facts have emerged in the deepening crisis rocking the oil-rich Ogidigben community in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, as a formal petition to the Chief of Army Staff has exposed an alleged conspiracy between prominent Itsekiri individuals and officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) to undermine justice for victims of a deadly December 2025 invasion.
The petition, dated 29th June 2026 and signed by P.O. Aihiokhai Esq. of Aihiokhai & Aihiokhai on behalf of the Ugborodo Management Committee, reveals that suspects arrested with a cache of arms following the invasion that killed Emiko Onuwaje have been inexplicably released.
Our correspondent gathered that the released suspects were allegedly caught red-handed with AK-47 rifles and ammunition during the brazen assault on the peaceful community on 20th December 2025.
However, in a shocking twist, the petition alleges that the Nigerian Army Effurun Barracks and the DSS Asaba “connived and conspired to release these notorious criminals” without prosecution.
The situation has taken a more sinister turn, with impeccable sources informing the Daily Champion that some top Itsekiri persons are working feverishly to “kill this matter” entirely.
According to information available to our newspaper, these individuals are collaborating with corrupt DSS officials to undermine the 14-day ultimatum issued by the Director General of the DSS in Abuja to produce the suspects for questioning.
The petition itself corroborates this, stating that one of the suspects, Gbubemi Stephen Meke, was seen on Facebook boasting in the Itsekiri language that he had been released and “nothing will happen” .
This brazen display of impunity has sent shockwaves through the community.
Sources close to the investigation revealed exclusively to the Daily Champion that the Itsekiri figures, working in concert with their allies within the DSS, went to see the Commanding Officer of the Army Effurun Barracks to pressure him into writing a favourable report to whitewash the matter.
”However, they met a brick wall there, as the military officer refused to be compromised,” a high-ranking security source told our correspondent.
Undeterred, the same group has reportedly concluded plans to travel to Port Harcourt to see the Army Brigade Commander with a similar mission: to get him to do their bidding.
The petition paints a grim picture of the current situation in Ogidigben, describing a community living in “fear and hopelessness.”
”These criminals are now re-grouping to invade the community again,” the petition reads.
”They are now seeing themselves as people who are above the law.”
The social and economic life of the community has reportedly been crippled, with residents living in constant fear of another attack.
The Ugborodo Management Committee, through their solicitors, has pleaded with the Chief of Army Staff to carry out a “proper investigation as to why these notorious criminals were released by the Army and the DSS” .
The petition, which includes a flash drive containing video clips of the suspects’ arrest and of Gbubemi Stephen Meke’s Facebook boast, urges the Army chief to intervene to “guide against further loss of lives and properties.”
It further alleges that the arrested suspects, who are “mostly non-indigenes,” were found with a “cache of Arms contained in a hand bag.”
The community leadership, in an earlier briefing, had described the December 20 invasion as a “meticulously planned, well-funded, and barbaric armed assault designed to terrorize a peaceful community” .
The death of Emiko Onuwaje has sparked widespread outrage, with community leaders and civil society groups demanding justice.
The petition has been copied to the National Security Adviser, the Director General of the State Security Service, and the Inspector General of Police.
The community is now demanding that those responsible for the killing and the subsequent cover-up face the full wrath of the law.
As the 14-day ultimatum issued to the DSS expires, all eyes are on Abuja to see whether the security agencies will act decisively or allow the alleged corruption and high-level interference to bury justice in what has become a test case for the rule of law in the Niger Delta.
Efforts to reach the DSS and Army spokespersons for comments on these fresh allegations were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
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