Obasanjo reveals how he feel after burning down Odi community in Bayelsa

In a 1999 interview, Olusegun Obasanjo, the former President of Nigeria, addressed the question of whether he regretted burning down Odi Community in Bayelsa State.

This comes after some youths in Delta State towns of Okuama and Okoloba killed sixteen Nigerian Army troops on Thursday. The soldiers had responded to a distress call after a communal clash broke out in the village. The ambush claimed the lives of twelve soldiers, two Majors, and one Colonel.

However, Obasanjo stated during the interview that he had no regrets about whatever he did while in office. Regarding the massacre at Odi Community, the former President claimed he had to take the necessary action. He said, “when I sent the police whose job is to protect the people, and they were killed. I sent the soldiers; they were killed. What do you expect me to do? Fold my arms? If you were in my shoes, what would you have done?”

The Odi Massacre was an attack on the predominantly Ijaw village of Odi in Bayelsa State on November 20, 1999, by the Nigerian Armed Forces. The ongoing conflict in the Niger Delta over indigenous rights to oil resources and environmental protection was the reason behind the attack. After particular gangs in the community killed 12 Nigerian Police officers, it is reported that around 900 civilians were also killed in the attack.

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