A former member of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Augustus Elliott Osomu, has recounted his experience of multiple arrests and torture during the President Ibrahim Babangida’s military junta. He was struggling for the creation of new states out of the old Rivers State. Osomu, who represented Ogbia Constituency 111 in the second Assembly of the state, made this disclosure while fielding questions from journalists. This was in the context of Bayelsa State and Nigeria wrapping up plans for the country’s 66th Independence Day anniversary and the 30th anniversary of the state’s creation celebrations.
According to Hon. Osomu, between 1987 and 1993, the old Rivers State suffered marginalization. This necessitated the clamour for equity and fairness in the administrative agenda of the then federal government. The marginalization led to youths and opinion leaders from the State taking to the streets of Port Harcourt to register their grievances. This was after General Babangida created nine new states on August 27, 1991, which brought Nigeria’s total number of states to 30. The new states created include Abia, Delta, Enugu, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Osun, Taraba, and Yobe.
Hon. Osomu stated that to protest the failure of the regime to create a new state from the old River State in 1991, he organized a protest. He gave one young man, Bolous Indiamaowei, some money to lock the Rivers State Secretariat. The reason for locking the secretariat was to get the government’s attention and involve civil servants in the protest. The protest was successful in getting the attention of the Military Administrator, Colonel Godwin Abbey, who addressed them.
However, the protest also led to the arrest of several indigenes of the State at different times and in different parts of the city. Hon. Osomu was arrested and taken to the Central Police Station in Port Harcourt, where he saw other people who were part of the protest already in cell. These included Dr. Abiye Sekibo, Bolous Indiamaowei, and Barr. Ledum Mitee. Though Babangida still didn’t create any state out of Rivers State, he created about 12 new LGAs in the state, including Ogbia LGA.
Hon. Osomu emphasized that in the Nigerian federation, state creation is viewed from different perspectives, including equal and equitable spread of development and empowerment of the citizens. It also serves as an avenue for checkmating marginalization. Hence, the federal and state authorities saw the agitation for a new state as a direct affront on them.
The ex-legislator expressed gratitude that finally, in 1996, under the Gen. Sani Abacha regime, Bayelsa State was carved out of the old Rivers State. He noted that most of the memoirs demanding the creation of additional states out of Rivers State, including Bayelsa State, were typed in his firm, Ellitons Computers Nig. Ltd.
The creation of Bayelsa State in 1996 brought an end to the long agitation for a separate state. Hon. Osomu’s experience during the military junta highlights the struggles faced by those fighting for state creation in Nigeria. His story serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by many in the pursuit of equity and fairness in the country.
Key points
- Hon. Augustus Elliott Osomu was arrested and tortured during the President Ibrahim Babangida’s military junta while struggling for the creation of new states out of the old Rivers State.
- The creation of nine new states by General Babangida in 1991 did not include a new state from Rivers State, leading to further agitation.
- Bayelsa State was finally carved out of the old Rivers State in 1996 under the Gen. Sani Abacha regime.
