Crush real militants, Ijaw youths condemn Avengers, ask Buhari to fish them out
Ajigi Olatomiwa
Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide on Monday, condemned the sabotage activities of a new militant group, codenamed Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).
The council spokesman, Mr. Eric Omare, while condemning the new militants group appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to fish out the real troublemakers and spare innocent persons and communities in the region.
According to Omare, there was no justification for NDA to embark on destruction of oil facilities and pollution of the region’s environment.
Supporting President Buhari’s efforts in unmasking the identities of the culprits, he said such move should only be targeted at the real militants.
His words: “We do not see the justification in the Niger Delta Avengers embarking on destruction of oil facilities because Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, denounced the group.
“I think Tompolo did the proper thing by coming out to inform the entire world that he was not part of the NDA when there were insinuations to the effect that he was behind them.
“As with other cases of attack on oil facilities, the Niger Delta environment and people are the ultimate victims and would suffer from these latest attacks.
“The IYC believes that irrespective of their grievances, there are better ways of expressing them rather than contributing to the further destruction of the already massively degraded Niger Delta environment.
“The security agencies should go after the real culprits and not innocent communities and people in the region. From our experience, the security personnel in a bid to impress their superiors and justify the huge amount of money budgeted for the purpose, always attack innocent communities and people.
“This must not be allowed to happen this time around. We would also advise the Federal Government to be prompt in directing security agencies to deal with insurgent groups all over the country including the Fulani herdsmen who have been killing innocent Nigerians just like they have just directed in respect of the Niger Delta Avengers”.