The family of Pa Dennis Okugbaye, the 81-year-old treasurer of the Okuama community in Delta State’s Ughelli South Local Government Area, has revealed the events surrounding his death in military detention on December 10, 2024.
This disclosure comes amid silence from Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and military authorities, who have yet to address the incident six days after Pa Okugbaye’s passing.
According to family sources, who spoke anonymously to The PUNCH for security reasons, they paid ₦140,000 to the military to fuel a vehicle for transporting their ailing father from Port Harcourt to Asaba.
Reports indicate that Pa Okugbaye was being moved by military officers from Port Harcourt in Rivers State to the 63 Brigade in Asaba, Delta State, when he reportedly died en route.
“We were told that our father is very sick and we should send ₦140,000 to buy fuel to transport him to Asaba so that we (the family) can take him to hospital.
“We sent the money and were told to come to 63 Brigade, Asaba to receive our father on Monday, December 9. They warned us that only his daughter would receive him.
“On Monday morning, we came to Asaba, then our sister moved to the military barrack, 63 Brigade, Asaba, to receive him but she was there till around 5 pm, no signal. We informed some of our leaders, including Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, of the development.
“We went back home, it was on Tuesday when we were calling to know the next step that we were told that our father died on the road when they were about to come,” the sources told the platform.
The family also claimed that neither the military authorities nor the governor had reached out to them regarding the incident.
Pa Okugbaye’s death follows the demise of the community’s President General, Pa James Oghoroko, who also died in military detention less than a week earlier.
The two late community leaders, along with Prof. Arthur Ekpekpo, Chief Belvis Adogbo, Mrs. Mabel Owhemu, and Mr. Dennis Malaka, were arrested by the military between August 18 and 20, 2024.
They had been held in detention without trial since their arrest, which occurred after the killing of 17 soldiers on a peace mission aimed at resolving a land dispute between the Okuama and Okoloba communities on March 14, 2024.
Efforts to reach the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Ifeanyi Osuoza, and the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Festus Ahon, were unsuccessful, as calls and messages went unanswered at the time of filing this report.
Social critic Mr. Zik Gbemre condemned Governor Oborevwori for failing to hold the military accountable.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Gbemre expressed concern over the deaths of two Okuama community leaders in custody and the continued detention of four others, describing it as a sign of deep institutional failures.
“Oborevwori shying away from his duty to call the army to order in gross abuse of power in the state is very bad and shameful as the chief security officer of the state.
“In the last couple of days, what is happening in Delta is appalling, very shameful and inciting,” he said.