Threat by a militant group, Joint Niger Delta
Liberation Force (JNDLF), to launch six missiles in
the Niger Delta from Tuesday has sparked panic in
the geo-political zone.
Liberation Force (JNDLF), to launch six missiles in
the Niger Delta from Tuesday has sparked panic in
the geo-political zone.
Residents of Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa states in
particular are apprehensive of the likely effects of
the missile launch on an area that is already in
turmoil over the spate of attacks on oil installations
in Bayelsa and Delta states by the Niger Delta
Avengers (NDA).
They want the Federal Government and the security
agencies to step in immediately and stop the
situation from degenerating.
Some of the people who spoke to The Nation on
the matter fear that the militants usually carry out
their threats, adding that those that were issued by
NDA had come to pass without anyone preventing
them.
Others berated the militants and queried their
motive for wanting to cause grieve among the
people they claim to be defending.
Comrade Ben Tari, leader of Eye of Niger Delta
(END), said in Port Harcourt that no true son of the
Niger Delta would threaten the people the way the
JNDLF and the NDA are going about their business.
He queried: “Are you sure that these people are
from the Niger Delta? They say they are new but
they are not new. They are still the same people
that broke away from earlier groups because they
refused to be controlled.
“They are complaining about government and the oil
companies, killing the means of livelihood of the
Niger Delta people, such as the aquatic system.
“Now they want to launch missiles to kill us and our
soil.
“If they want to fight our cause, they should make
use of the International Court.”
The President of Aggrieved Niger Delta, Mr. Prince
Amatari Bipeledei, described the missile launch
threat as a needless venture and asked President
Muhammadu Buhari to have a rethink about military
action to confront the Niger Delta militants.
He called for dialogue instead.
Bipeledei said: “Nobody has ever achieved anything
with violence. I want the Avengers to apply dialogue
and a sense of maturity, understanding and
wisdom.
“I am for peace, and to be frank, agitation may not
be meaningful because it has put the region in a
tight situation.
“I am not happy about the inability of the
government to take things seriously until they have
gone out of hand.
“These youths would not have gone this far if the
previous government had considered our
challenges.”
The Secretary General of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC),
Mr. Bristol Alagbariya Emmanuel, attributed the
fresh wave of violence to alleged neglect of the
zone by successive governments.
He said there would always be crises in the region
for as long as it remains underdeveloped and
neglected.
A former military administrator of Bayelsa State,
Colonel Edor Obi (rtd) advised the Federal
Government to exercise caution in handling the
problem, noting that the challenge cannot be solved
militarily.
He said: “The killing of soldiers and civilians and
bombing of oil facilities are condemnable, but the
Federal Government would have to thread with
caution in handling the matter.
“It will require a lot of tact to address the problem.
But one thing the government must do is open up
communication channels because the problem
cannot be solved militarily.
“If we are not careful in handling the problem, it
could become a more complex national security
challenge than terrorism.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Ladi Williams,
also advised the Federal Government against using
only force to address the problem. Instead, he said,
the government should use the carrot and stick
approach to resolve the challenge.
“The government should talk to them a little and
fight them a little,” he said.
“The present development portends doom and
sodomy for the country. It is bad for the investment
drive of the country and not helping the image of
the country internationally.
“The President must constitute a war and peace
council that should not consist of officials of the
government alone but everybody who genuinely
wants an end to this problem.
“The young men making up the group should also
toe the part of peace and avoid wasting their lives.”
The president, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum,
Comrade Shetima Yerima, who doubles as the
Chairman, Coalition of Ethnic Nationality Youth
Leaders, described the JNDLF threat as
disappointing, saying: “It is unfortunate that they are
sabotaging the efforts of the government and
setting the country back for no good reasons.
“It is very wrong of them to have put us in this
mess. If they have issues with the Federal
Government or any individual in the government,
they should employ a peaceful way of resolving it.
“We all gave the region our support for them to get
13 per cent derivation and other benefits without
using violence. Why should they now take to
violence if there is anything that they want the
government to do?
“We would not advise the Federal Government to
use force against them. The use of force does not
lead to anything good. Rather, the government
should employ dialogue to resolve the problem.
“They should engage all the stakeholders to come
up with a roadmap to resolving the problem.”
Debunking the rumour that the Igbo are working in
conjunction with the militants, the President of the
youth wing of the pan-Igbo socio- political group,
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said:
“The Niger Delta militants don’t have the support of
Ndigbo. We totally condemn their activities because
they are causing untold setback for the good plans
that President Buhari has for the country.
“They don’t have our support, and in the interest of
the whole nation, we urge them to put an end to the
attacks.
“The militants, Boko Haram groups and the
agitators in the South East should bring their
grievances to the table for dialogue.”
His Ijaw Youth Congress counterpart, Comrade
Udengs Eradiri, said: “The attacks are senseless but
the government must be responsible to its duties.”
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC)
in Bayelsa State, Mr. Christopher Abarowei,
appealed to security agencies to expand their
intelligence and investigate the threats with all
seriousness.
“We recall that the militants said they were going to
carry out an attack that would shock the world.
“In this dangerous times we live in, security
operatives must close ranks to pursue all
intelligence and identify all threats before
dismissing them.
“Anything can happen.”
Abarowei also urged the youths in the region to
change their tactics of agitation, adding that violent
protest was out of vogue.
He said the action of the militants had deepened
the hardship in the region and resulted in the
inability of states in the area to pay salaries.
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide pleaded
with all militant groups in the zone to give peace a
chance.
The IYC in a statement by its spokesman, Eric
Omare, said the present situation “requires the
direct involvement of President Buhari,” because, as
he put it, “the events of the last few days have
clearly shown that those mandated to lead the
peace process have failed to produce the desired
result.”
He also advised the governors of the Niger Delta
states to “collaborate and galvanise stakeholders in
the region to quickly start the process to return
peace to the Niger Delta region.
“This is a call to save the Niger Delta region and
Nigeria; hence political considerations must be set
aside.
“The events that are happening in the region pose
serious economic, environmental and security
challenges to the entire nation.”
The group told the NDA and other groups
threatening the peace that “violence has never
solved problems anywhere in the world.
“The federal, state governments and stakeholders in
the Niger Delta region should be given the
opportunity to look at the issues at stake. We
strongly feel that the continuous bombing of oil
facilities and killings is not in the interest of the
Niger Delta region and people. Aggrieved groups
must give peace a chance!”
It condemned Wednesday’s killing of soldiers and
civilians in a houseboat in Delta State, saying: “In
the last 72 hours, there have been reported cases
of attacks and killing of soldiers, civilians working
in house boats and attacks on oil facilities in
Ogbeinbiri, Bayelsa State and Forcados export line,
Delta State.
“The civilians killed at the boat house were mainly
Ijaw youths, including Tombra David Iwoubebi, Anita
Demedongha from Odimodi Community, Burutu
Local Government Area of Delta State and Miss
Flora Gbenekama from Azama in Gbaramatu
Kingdom, Warri South West Local Government Area.
“We in strong words condemn this senseless killing
of soldiers and civilians that were working in the
houseboat. This act of wickedness would only
complicate an already delicate security situation.”
Ex-President-General, Ndokwa Neku Union (NNU) in
Delta State, Paul Enebeli urged the Federal
Government and the militant group Joint Niger-Delta
Liberation Force (JNDLF) to tread the path of
peace.
He said the threat to launch six missiles from June
7, if carried out, would jeopadise the unity of the
nation.
He advised the federal government to employ
proxies to negotiate with the militants, stressing
that the militants might be afraid to come out to the
negotiating table for fear of being arrested.
He said many patriotic Niger-Deltans will be willing
to engage the militants and persuade them to drop
their arms.
He said two wrongs cannot make a right, noting
that “the destruction of our commonwealth and the
threat by the federal government to deal decisively
with the militants as counterproductive.”
According to him, the risk and benefit in the military
option was more risk prone than posing any benefit
to the nation.
He warned that the Nigerian State cannot afford to
three theatres of war, adding that the war in the
North-East is still raging, while the IPOB protests is
gaining momentum, and urged caution in tackling
the insurgency in the Niger-Delta.
He said: “If we are not careful, the various wars
could ‘derail the delivery of the electoral promise of
the ruling party.”
Some stakeholders in Anambra State said there was
no cause for panic.
Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Rita
Maduagwu; the Vice Chancellor of Odumegwu
Ojukwu University, Prof Fidelis Okafor and the
traditional ruler of Amanuke in Awka North, lgwe
Denis Ezebuilo, said Nigeria needs peace at this
point in time and nothing should be done to harm
its unity.
“What we need is peace and unity in this country
and we will not allow anything to separate us,”
Maduagwu said.
Prof. Okafor asked Nigerians not to panic and said
God was in control in Nigeria.
“God is protecting this country, there is no cause
for alarm. Such a threat would eventually turn out an
empty one,” he said.
lgwe Ezebuilo told The Nation yesterday that only
God’s grace could stop the plan.
He said the Almighty God would surely destabilize
any evil plan by anybody or group in the country.
To Akure lawyer and activist, Mr. Charles Titiloye,
the JNDLF threat is nothing short of a declaration of
war on Nigeria.
He asked the federal government to immediately
proceed to take a decisive action on the threat to
the nation’s security.
Titiloye who is a former Secretary, Nigeria Bar
Association (NBA), Akure Branch urged Niger Delta
elders not to allow militants to turn the creeks into
another Sambisa Forest.
“The time to check the activities of these militants
is now. It is very unfortunate that despite the
amnesty programme which is sustained by the
Buhari government, militants are still threatening the
Nigerian state.”
The National President of theYoruba Youth Congress
(YYC), Prince Dapo Adepoju also condemned the
threat to launch missiles. The YYC leader pleaded
with the group to lay down its arms in the interest
of peace.
The Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF) on
Thursday threatened to launch six missiles in the
Niger Delta region from Tuesday.
It did not disclose the nature of the missiles but
warned that no airplanes should fly in and out of
the country within the period claiming that the
weapons were capable of hitting any object despite
its size.
It said its fighters trained for that purpose had
already arrived the region with its foreign partners
through what it described as the country’s porous
borders.
The group in an electronic statement said it took
the decision to further wreck havoc in the region at
a meeting attended in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State by
its commanders.
It said that the launching of the missiles would
signal its readiness for the final breakup of the
country.
The statement was signed by people who identified
themselves as ‘General’ Torunanaowei Latei (Creek
Network Coordinator); ‘General’ Agbakakuro Owei-
Tauro (Pipeline Bleeding Expert); ‘General’ Akotebe
Darikoro (Commander, General Duties) and ‘General’
Pulokiri Ebikade (Intelligence Bureau).
Source:
The Nation
The Nation
