The Odi massacre was an attack carried out on November 20, 1999, by the

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

on the predominantly

Ijaw Ijaw may refer to: *Ijaw people *Ijaw languages The Izon languages (), otherwise known as the Ịjọ languages, are the languages spoken by the Izon people in southern Nigeria. Classification The Ijo languages were traditionally considered a ...

town of Odi in

Bayelsa State Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yenag ...

. The attack came in the context of an ongoing

conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

in the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical ...

over

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

rights to

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

resources and environmental protection. It is estimated that over 900 civilians were killed in the attack. People generally say that the

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

was ordered by the regime of former president

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

and vice president

Atiku Abubakar Atiku is a given name and surname. It may refer to: Given name *Atiku Abubakar (born 1946), Nigerian politician and businessman, Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 *Atikur Rahman Mallik, Bangladeshi film editor Middle name *Abubakar Atiku ...

. The military has often defended its action saying it was ambushed on its way to Odi. As a result, tensions rose before entrance into the village.

Massacre

Before the

, twelve members of the

Nigerian police The Nigeria Police Force is the principal law enforcement and the lead security agency in Nigeria. Designated by the 1999 constitution as the national police of Nigeria with exclusive jurisdiction throughout the country, as at 2016 it has a s ...

were murdered by a gang near Odi, seven on November 4 and the remainder in the following days. In retaliation, the military decided to invade the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

but there are reports that the army was

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...

ed close to the village 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 the civilian population and the town's buildings. Every building in the town except the bank, the

Anglican church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

and the health centre was burned to the ground. All of this happened in president

's reign.

Death toll

A wide range of estimates has been given for the numbers of civilians killed.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

concluded that "the soldiers must certainly have killed tens of unarmed

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

s and that figures of several hundred dead are entirely possible."

Nnimmo Bassey Nnimmo Bassey (born 11 June 1958) is a Nigerian architect, environmental activist, author and poet, who chaired Friends of the Earth International from 2008 through 2012 and was executive director of Environmental Rights Action for two decades. He ...

, Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action, claims that nearly 2500 civilians were killed. The government initially put the death toll at 43, including eight soldiers.

Court case

In February 2013, the Federal High Court ordered the Federal Government to pay N37.6 billion compensation to the people of Odi community in kolokuma/

Opokuma Kolokuma/Opokuma is a Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Kaiama. Much of the area of the LGA is occupied by the Bayelsa National Forest. It has an area of 361 km and a population of 77,292 at ...

Local Government Area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

Bayelsa state Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yenag ...

. Justice ordered that the compensation should be paid within three weeks. In his judgment, Justice Lambi Akanbi of the Federal High Court, condemned the government for a "brazen violation of the fundamental human rights of the victims to movement, life and to own property and live peacefully in their ancestral home." The case led to the payment of N15 billion from the

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...

led administration as out of court settlement. According to Prof. Kobina Imananagha (Chairman of the Odi Destruction Case Prosecution Committee (ODCPC)) “The London court issued threats that it was going to enforce the full judgement of the court (payment of N37.6billion) if by October 21, 2014, government fails to negotiate settlement and pay agreed compensation to Odi. This seeming that compelled the Federal Ministry of Justice and the leadership of the legal team, ODCPC and the king of Odi to the negotiation table on May 26, 2014 where N15billion (as the only and final payment) offer as compensation to Odi was made by the Federal Government”. The government later paid the sum of N15 billion which led to further conflict in the community and the subsequent kidnap of the committee Chairman Prof. Zibokere who was later released.

References in popular culture

The Odi massacre inspired a song titled "Dem Mama" on

Timaya Inetimi Timaya Odon (born 15 August 1980), better known by his stage name Timaya, is a multiple award-winning Nigerian singer and songwriter. He hails from Odi, Bayelsa state, South-South Nigeria. He is fondly called the Egberi Papa 1 of Bayels ...

's True Story album. The Odi massacre also was the muse for the poem titled "Potpourri of Perdition" by

Success Akpojotor Success is the state or condition of meeting a defined range of expectations. It may be viewed as the opposite of failure. The criteria for success depend on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One person migh ...

, and published on Poets Reading The News. Odi Massacre also inspired a Poem "Did Odi do the Deed?" written by Ibiwari Ikiriko

References

External links

Africa Action
*
A Blanket of Silence: Images of the Odi Genocide
*
"Potpourri of Perdition": Poem by Success Akpojotor
{{coord missing, Nigeria Bayelsa State Massacres in 1999 1990s massacres in Nigeria 1999 in Nigeria November 1999 events in Nigeria 1999 murders in Nigeria Massacres committed by Nigeria