*Restates his Innocence
By Ken Afor
His Royal Majesty (HRM) Clement Ikolo Oghenerukeywe, the monarch of Okuama-Ewu kingdom in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, has denied any involvement in the recent killing of 17 soldiers in the state.
His Majesty, speaking at a press conference held at the royal palace, expressed shock and disbelief at being named among wanted persons by the government.
“The government is sufficiently aware of my position. I am really, really very surprised, I’m taken aback, that my name, as the monarch of the kingdom, will appear in a list of wanted persons,” the monarch stated, visibly distressed by the accusations leveled against him.
Emphasizing his innocence, the monarch declared, “I have no hands in killings. I have no hands in encouraging anybody to kill anybody. It is against my philosophy as a human being and my faith as a Catholic it is against it. This is a serious crime against humanity.”
In his address, the monarch called for a thorough investigation to uncover the true perpetrators behind the heinous crimes that have rocked the community.
“I think they need to look at the appropriate places, they need to do a thorough investigation to know all those who have committed this and bring them to book,” he urged.
The monarch’s plea comes hours after the Defence Headquarters released the list of eight persons declared wanted over their alleged involvement in the gruesome killing of the military personnel.
At a press briefing on Thursday, Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, stated that the monarch, including Akevwru Daniel Omotego, popularly known as Amagben, has been declared wanted.
Others declared wanted are Prof. Ekpekpo Arthur, Andaowei Dennis Bakriri, Akata Malawa David, Sinclear Oliki, Reuben Baru, and a female, Igoli Ebi.
It would be recalled that on Wednesday, the 17 military personnel were laid to rest at the national cemetery in Abuja.
During his speech, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred national honors on the fallen soldiers and pledged to provide housing facilities, scholarship programs, and other entitlements to support their grieving families.
