Soldiers Invade Ijaw Community In Delta State

NOTWITHSTANDING the two-week
ceasefire declared by the Federal
Government, last Monday, soldiers
on Wednesday morning, swooped
on Tebijor, also known as
Okpelama, an Ijaw community in
Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-
West Local Government Area, Delta
State, in five gunboats hunting for
militants.
Operatives of the Nigeria Navy
Ship, NNS Delta on Tuesday
arrested three persons suspected to
be pipeline bombers and oil
thieves.
These came as a new militant
group, Niger-Sea Commandos,
NDSC, said it had broken away
from the Niger Delta Avengers,
NDA.
Meanwhile, the Niger Delta
Liberation Force, NDLF, a non-
operational militant group founded
by the late John Togo, has slammed
the Joint Niger Delta Liberation
Force, JNDLF, for using its name
without permission to announce
plan by militants to launch missiles
and attack government
establishments.
Commander of the Commander,
Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Delta,
Commodore Raimi Mohammed,
confirmed to Vanguard on phone
that navy arrested three suspects
“I can confirm that the arrest was
made, but I maintain my earlier
stance that I do not want to attach
group names to people. We are up
against oil assets destroyers, oil
thieves and other criminals in the
waterways. Therefore, it is true we
have made arrest of the three, but I
am not at the moment concerned
about what group people claim to
belong. “
“We deal with the impact of their
crimes and through information
they provide get hold of their
collaborators. Identity claim could
issue for another day, but there
could identity claims though,” he
said.
A villager, who spoke on the arrest,
said: “Three youths from Tebijor
were unlawfully arrested today
(Tuesday) by Nigerian Navy. The
youths were coming from fetching
mangrove sticks to set a fishing
trap when they were apprehended
by navy personnel on patrol at
Tebijor.”