On this day in 1999, it is said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo ordered the Nigerian Armed Forces to raid the town of Odi in the Niger Delta, in response to the murder of twelve policemen by local militia…
The Odi massacre was an attack carried out on November 20, 1999, by the Nigerian military on Odi in Bayelsa State, a predominantly Ijaw area.
At the time, there was an ongoing conflict in the Niger Delta over indigenous rights to oil resources and environmental protection , which eventually brought about the attack on the town.
Although people say Obasanjo ordered the massacre but the military has often defended its action saying it was ambushed on its way to Odi, thus tensions soared, they broke through the ambush and exchanged fire with armed militias in the village who were believed to be using the civilian population as cover this and the “ambush” provocation led to the attack on civilian population and the town’s buildings. Every building in the town except the bank, the Anglican church and the health center was burned to the ground.
This happened in president Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure and if you are familiar with “Dem Mama” a song on Timaya’s True Story album, the Odi massacre inspired it.
