Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting

AFTER surrendering himself to the Delta State Police Command after being declared wanted by the Nigeria Defence Headquarters over the killing of 17 military personnel, the Command has, in turn, handed over the monarch of Ewu kingdom in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, Clement Oghenerukevwe Ikolo, Urhukpe 1, to the military authorities.

HRM Ikolo had surrendered himself to the police Thursday shortly after his photo and name emerged as one of the eight wanted persons allegedly having connection with the killing of the 17 officers and soldiers at Okuama.

The monarch was declared wanted alongside the president-general of Ewu, Prof Ekpekpo Arthur and six others over the alleged killing of 17 soldiers by the Defence Headquarters of the Nigerian Army.

Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe confirmed the hanging over of the suspect in a terse message to journalists, adding that the monarch was handed over Friday morning in Asaba.

Earlier, the monarch on Thursday had briefed the press where he declared his innocence before submitting himself to the police.

He had said: “I am very surprised that my name as the monarch of the kingdom will appear in the list of wanted persons.

“I have no hand in the killings; I have no hand in encouraging anybody to kill anybody; it is against my philosophy as a human being and my faith as a Catholic.

“It is a serious crime against humanity and they need to look at the appropriate places and do thorough investigation to know all those who have committed this and bring them to book and let justice prevail.

“I am not a party to this and like I have said earlier, the state government is aware of the turbulence I have been going through and as I speak, an arrangement was made by the government to invite the opponents recently just before these happenings.

“To invite those who are fighting me in the kingdom to reconcile the differences and allow me to go into the kingdom and start to rule as the monarch of the place.

“I have not been able to set up anything, I have not been able to set up my traditional council, I have done nothing in the kingdom.

“So, I barely know anything right now, I have no information, I know nothing; I am only just in the process of setting up a structure to enable me rule in the kingdom.

“The government is sufficiently aware of my position and I am really surprised and taken aback that my name as the monarch of the kingdom and that my name will appear on the list of wanted persons.

“I saw my name on the list of wanted people connected with the heinous crime. It is a shock to me because I have no hands in such things and I don’t believe in doing things that truncate the lives of human beings.

“I am not in any way shape or form, connected to this. Let it be stated clearly that I haven’t been able even as a monarch, I haven’t been able to access the kingdom to date.

‘I got my staff of office on the 16th of November, 2023 and before getting my staff of office, there was turbulence.”

Meanwhile, Stonix News gathered that the monarch has been flown to the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, for interrogation.