- Odioma Massacre: Soldiers burned buildings, killed 17 villagers and allegedly raped women
- Bomb exploded outside church near Nigeria’s capital, wounded five people
- Nigerian warplanes bombed Boko Haram forest training camps – military
- Suspected cultists kill manager of a hotel belonging to Osaze Odewingie in gangs’ shootout
According to Robert A. Heinlein, a generation which ignores history has no past and no future.
Sometimes we look back on history, but it’s not usually because we’re proud of what happened. Most often, it is done for educational purposes and lessons.
In an effort to close the gap in historical documentation and for educational purposes, WITHIN NIGERIA has highlighted four significant historical events that occurred on February 19th in Nigeria.
Odioma Massacre: Soldiers burned buildings, killed 17 villagers and allegedly raped women
On this date, 19th February in 2015, a village located in Bayelsa State was stormed by soldiers, sailors and police to hunt down a local militia leader and black magic Guru who was accused of murdering twelve (12) people from Obiaku in Abia State.
Odioama is an ancient community located in Brass Local Government Area Bayelsa State, one of major Nembe speaking community in Bayelsa. Nigeria, in an area where oil was found by Shell Nigeria.
According to report, the village was largely destroyed in February 2005, when soldiers burned buildings, killed perhaps 17 villagers and raped women, ostensibly in revenge for previous killings by local rebels.
The underlying cause was apparently a dispute by the nearby community of Nembe Bassambiri over who would receive payments from the oil extraction.
Bomb exploded outside church near Nigeria’s capital, wounded five people
On this date, 19th February in 2012, a bomb planted in an abandoned car exploded outside a church in the middle of a worship service Sunday near Nigeria’s capital, wounding five people amid a continuing wave of violence by a radical Islamist sect, authorities and witnesses said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast outside the Christ Embassy church in Suleja, a city near the nation’s capital Abuja.
However, the area has been targeted in the past by the sect known as Boko Haram including the Christmas Day car bombing of a Catholic church nearby that killed at least 44 people.
The explosion happened just after 10 a.m. as the church began its service, Pastor Uyi Idugboe told journalists.
Security guards at the church had noticed something suspicious by the abandoned car, prompting the pastor to call everyone inside the church before the service began, he said.
Nigerian warplanes bombed Boko Haram forest training camps – military
On this date, 19th of February in 2015, Nigerian warplanes bombarded training camps and caches of weapons and vehicles belonging to the Islamist group Boko Haram in the northeasterly Samibisa forest on Thursday, the military said.
“The death of a large number of terrorists has been recorded while many others are also scampering all over the forest and out of the struck bases,” defence spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade said.
Suspected cultists kill manager of a hotel belonging to Osaze Odewingie in gangs’ shootout
On this date, 19th February in 2019, gunmen suspected to be cultists yesterday killed the manager of a hotel belonging to Nigeria’s ex-international footballer, Osaze Odewingie, located at Erediauwa Street, off Upper Sokponba road, Ikpoba-Okha local government area of the Edo State
The hotel manager, Mr. Von Osato Okunkpolor, was killed at about 9:00p.m. on Sunday in Benin City. The deceased was married to a journalist, Mrs. Anita, working for a local tabloid in Bénin City.
