Odi, an oil-bearing community in Bayelsa State is razed to the ground by Nigerian military troops and about 2,483 persons - mainly women, children and the elderly-- are massacred on the order of President Olusegun Obasanjo. The reason given by the government for the invasion: some 9 police officers that had gone into the community to arrest a notorious gang in the state, but were allegedly killed by the gang. The President threatened to declare a state of emergency within 14 days. However, before the expiration of the 14 days, the President deployed soldiers into the community and razed it to the ground. Community members suspect this massacre was to serve as a lesson to other oil producing communities in the region protesting for a fair share of the resources taken from their land.