Odi massacre
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The Odi massacre was an attack carried out on November 20, 1999, by the Nigerian military on the predominantly Ijaw town of Odi in Bayelsa State. The attack came in the context of an ongoing conflict in the Niger Delta over indigenous rights to oil resources and environmental protection.
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[edit] Massacre
Prior to the massacre, twelve members of the Nigerian police were murdered by a gang near Odi, seven on November 4 and the remainder in the following days.[1] Pursuing those responsible, the military invaded, exchanged fire, and then proceeded to indiscriminately attack the 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.[1]
[edit] Death toll
A wide range of estimates have been given for the numbers of civilians killed. Human Rights Watch concluded that "the soldiers must certainly have killed tens of unarmed civilians and that figures of several hundred dead are entirely plausible."[1] Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action, claims that nearly 2500 civilians were killed.[2] The government initially put the death toll at 43, including eight soldiers.[1]
[edit] References in popular culture
The Odi massacre inspired a song titled "Dem Mama" on Timaya's True Story album.
[edit] References
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