NIGERIA: Ijaw under military siege —Rights group
SECURITY operatives hunting for the militants who
bombed oil pipelines in Delta State have invaded the riverine Bolowoh community
in Ondo State, in search of a former commander of the Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, Bibopre Ajube, aka Shoot-At-Sight.
It was learned that the security
agents were hunting for the former militant leader, a partner of former General
Officer Commanding, GOC, of MEND, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo.
Meanwhile, former Commander of MEND, Victor Ebikabowei Ben,
alias ‘General’ Boyloaf, has dismissed the recent statement by the JTF, in the
Niger Delta that it would hold community leaders responsible for attacks by
militants on oil facilities in their areas.
Boyloaf, in an interview with Vanguard,
said, “Truth is, the JTF cannot hold any community leader responsible for any
attack that has taken place in the past or in the future, and they know
it, because the community leaders are not empowered to secure or watch
over the pipelines.”
This came as a non-governmental organisation, the Ijaw People
Development Initiative, IPDI, cried out yesterday to the international
community that the Ijaw nation was under military siege.
Ijaw nation under military siege —IPDI
National president of the organisation, Austin Ozobo, who called
for the intervention of the international community told Vanguard on phone: “Thousands of residents have
deserted their communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom and Bolowoh community, Ondo
State, the hometown of former militant leader, Bibopre Ajube, aka
Shoot-At-Sight, because of Monday’s invasion of the community.
“Movement is restricted in the area, cost of food is high and
some persons are trapped,” Ozobo said.
Also, the Committee for Rural Development, Warri, Delta State,
claimed, yesterday, that security operatives searching for perpetrators of the
last pipeline bombing in the state had issued an ultimatum to Ijaw residents
living in Sandfield I and 2, Ogbogbene, int Warri over side, Warri South-West
Local Government Area of the state, to vacate the areas.
President of the Committee, Mr. Asiayei Enaibo, in a statement,
said: “The issue of JTF asking Ijaw communities, especially Sandfield I and 2,
Ogbogbene, at Warri over side, because they are in search of Tompolo, is a sign
of misdirected action.”
A military source, however, denied that the task force issued a
quit notice to Ijaw communities, saying people were just blowing the military
operation out of proportion.
Enaibo, who said the residents were already deserting the
community, added, “The JTF should ensure professionalism in their
operations, as they are known to be perfect in intelligence gathering. An
ultimatum to Ijaw communities to pack out on January 28, is a declaration of
war against Ijaw nation by President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.”
Security operatives, who stormed Ondo State, were reportedly
working on intelligence that Ajube took part in the Delta pipeline bombing,
which the ex-militant leader denied.
The
details were still sketchy, yesterday, as the JTF in the Niger Delta was
keeping its current operation in Ondo State secret, but our source said, “Ajube
was not at home when they stormed his home.”
Our source said, “Soldiers narrowly missed arresting him, he
escaped before they could seize him. They seemed to be targeting people close
to Tompolo and have made more arrests. Ajube is one of the top Tompolo generals
that accepted amnesty.
“We do not have the identities of the people they have arrested
so far and the purpose of the army invasion,” he added.
Last week, the Arogbo Ijaw National Front raised alarm that the
Nigerian Army was exacerbating inter-ethnic tensions and other forms of
violence in the riverine parts of Ondo State with an ill-advised manhunt for
the founder of a vigilante group.
In a statement, its president, James Akubirisei, accused the
military of declaring an unwarranted search for Ajube, saying that security
agents accused members of a local anti-crime group, Gallery Security Services,
founded by Ajube, abandoned their duty posts to carry out the Delta attacks.
Meanwhile, the Okerenkoko Federated Communities have advised the
JTF not to bring reproach on the military through indiscriminate arrests of
Gbaramatu people over the recent crude oil and gas pipelines bombing in the state.
Secretary, Okerenkoko Federated Communities, Ernest Bebenimibo,
in a statement, said, “I want to call on the security agency to stop harassing,
arresting and detaining Okerenkoko and Gbaramatu youths without cogent reasons
after the recent pipeline bombardment which was roundly condemned by us.”
However, General Boyloaf, in an interview with Vanguard, was asked:
How do you see the present travail of Tompolo
concerning a bench warrant by a court for his arrest and insinuation that he
was party to the last pipeline bombing in Delta State?
What we have to do is to place events in their proper
prospective to avoid over heating the polity and causing unnecessary friction.
Most of us have our private businesses and in the course of doing business, we
interact on a corporate platform with other businesses and institutions of the
government.
In business, there may be misunderstanding, claims and counter
claims and I believe that there are ways and means to resolve whatever
differences that occur in the process of doing legitimate business. They should
explore that process.
A group of ex-militants which said ex-President Jonathan
did not grant them amnesty had claimed responsibility, saying that they struck
to draw attention to their demand. Do you think they are justified?
The late President Umaru Yar’Ádua, may God bless his soul,
granted the amnesty. It was continued by President Goodluck Jonathan and
President Buhari is sustaining it. Those who claimed responsibility should open
up. They should show their faces so that we will know if they are
beneficiaries of the amnesty or not.
It is not enough to make bogus statements that you cannot
substantiate. Anyone who is under amnesty has no justification to blow
pipelines. If you do so and they identify you, the normal thing is that you
automatically lose the benefits of the amnesty and they treat you as a common
criminal.
By Emma Amaize
Comments
Post a Comment