Avengers dispute Buratai's claim and insist they did not kill 50 soldiers
Wed Jun 01, 2016 08:12:am National
1.6K By Buchi Obichie
For the past four days following the siege by soldiers, hundreds of villagers, including women and children fleeing from different Gbaramatu communities in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, have remained trapped in the bush without food.
This development has been revealed as Niger Delta Avengers yesterday accused the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, of falsity in telling President Muhammadu Buhari, that its members were responsible for the death of 50 soldiers in the creeks of the Niger Delta.
It was gathered that controlled movement in and out of the creeks by soldiers ostensibly to checkmate the militants, had also compounded the woes of fleeing victims as they could neither move nor get immediate help from relatives outside the crisis zone.
Reacting to the development, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, in a statement by its spokesperson, Mr. Eric Omare, said: "The Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Worldwide wishes to alert the world of the massive military and genocidal attacks against Ijaw people and communities of the Niger Delta of Nigeria.
"From Monday, May 30 to the early hours of today, Tuesday, May 31, 2016, there have been massive military attacks against innocent Ijaw communities and peoples from Gbaramatu to Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdoms in Delta State to Southern Ijaw, Nembe, Brass and some other local government areas of Bayelsa State.
"In Gbaramatu, Delta State the people, especially women and children are in serious danger of mass death if they are not rescued from the rampaging military officers.
'Most people that ran into the bush in Oporoza, Kurutie, Kunukunuma, Kokodiagbene and some other villages and communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State are yet to be seen.
"In parts of Ogbe-Ijoh, especially the Naifor Island (Opposite Warri), the Navy throughout the night of May 30 to May 31, shot sporadically into the communities and in the process, a couple (Mr and Mrs Tiemo) were critically wounded.
"Ironically, this couple only recently ran to Naifor Island to escape the military onslaught. The villagers in desperation took the critically injured couple to the Navy base where they left them for the Navy to do whatever they wished to do with the couple."
The state of this couple from Ayakoromo community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State is still unknown at the time of issuing this statement.
'The IYC recall a similar incident a few months ago at the start of the renewed hostilities in the Niger Delta region in the same community.
"There is no oil facility in Naifor Island, Ogbe-Ijoh and none is close to the community. Therefore, there is no singular justification why the Navy has decided to use that particular community as its main target to justify the huge sum of money allocated to them to find the Avengers.''
In its accusation of the Army chief, Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, in a tweet yesterday, gave account of how the soldiers perished, and denied claims by the Army that it arrested 10 of its members, last Saturday, at Oporoza, saying there was no truth in the claim.
The Chief of Army Staff had disclosed last weekend in Port Harcourt that the Niger Delta Avengers were criminals, adding that the group was killing soldiers in locations in the region and vowed that the army would crush them.
Buratai had said: "They have been attacking our troop locations, killing our soldiers. We will not tolerate them. We will deal with them according to the law. We will look for them wherever they are, they are not agitating for anything, and they are just into crime.
'Communities should be patriotic enough to expose these criminals. They have nothing to fear, they should help fish out these criminals killing our soldiers, and we will not tolerate that."
But in response, the militants stated: 'The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General T. Y. Buratai, in his statement said NDA killed Nigeria soldiers, it is a big lie. Chief of Army Staff, we are not the ones killing your soldiers, stop lying."
"The Chief of Army Staff deployed personnel to the creeks without amphibian training, that led to the death of about 50 soldiers. If not for the help of local fishermen, the death rate would have been up to 100.
"He has been lying to his Commander in Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari that NDA are killing soldiers. This is our stand; we have not killed any soldier. If we do, we will claim responsibility because we take pride and responsibility in all we are doing. That is our code.
"Nigeria military also lied that NDA kill soldiers. We have not engaged in combat with them, but if they want us to kill them, let them come after us."
Meanwhile, ex-militants in the Niger Delta yesterday in Sapele, listed conditions for a ceasation in the current spate of bombings of oil installations in the region.
According to the ex-militants, unless the conditions are met by the Federal Government, there would be no respite in the area and more militant groups will emerge.
The conditions, according to their leaders, Paul Toruwei and Anthony Dango, include the fact that the Federal Government must audit all the records of payments made to ex-militants so far from the beginning of the Amnesty programme.
"The Amnesty Office must pay up all outstanding payments to us. It must pay all those who have not been receiving the monthly stipend since 2009.
'The Amnesty Office has lied to the President that it is paying everyone his stipends when it is not paying more than half of us who surrendered weapons to the Federal Government at the commencement of the Amnesty programme.
"The government has since January 2016 stopped the payment of N65,000 monthly stipend to those of us who have finished their school and skill acquisition training. We have no other means of livelihood, so the government must restore the payments.
"We also want the government to correct the false information that the Amnesty Office has fully paid till date over 30,000 recipients their monthly amnesty entitlements of N65,000 each. That is not true, the true position of the actual number of people paid, which is far less than the figure of 30,000 persons, must be revealed to avert further trouble in Niger Delta.
"There would be more bombings and more militant groups will spring up, if these conditions are not met immediately,'' the ex-militants stated.
This development has been revealed as Niger Delta Avengers yesterday accused the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, of falsity in telling President Muhammadu Buhari, that its members were responsible for the death of 50 soldiers in the creeks of the Niger Delta.
It was gathered that controlled movement in and out of the creeks by soldiers ostensibly to checkmate the militants, had also compounded the woes of fleeing victims as they could neither move nor get immediate help from relatives outside the crisis zone.
Reacting to the development, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, in a statement by its spokesperson, Mr. Eric Omare, said: "The Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Worldwide wishes to alert the world of the massive military and genocidal attacks against Ijaw people and communities of the Niger Delta of Nigeria.
"From Monday, May 30 to the early hours of today, Tuesday, May 31, 2016, there have been massive military attacks against innocent Ijaw communities and peoples from Gbaramatu to Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdoms in Delta State to Southern Ijaw, Nembe, Brass and some other local government areas of Bayelsa State.
"In Gbaramatu, Delta State the people, especially women and children are in serious danger of mass death if they are not rescued from the rampaging military officers.
'Most people that ran into the bush in Oporoza, Kurutie, Kunukunuma, Kokodiagbene and some other villages and communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State are yet to be seen.
"In parts of Ogbe-Ijoh, especially the Naifor Island (Opposite Warri), the Navy throughout the night of May 30 to May 31, shot sporadically into the communities and in the process, a couple (Mr and Mrs Tiemo) were critically wounded.
"Ironically, this couple only recently ran to Naifor Island to escape the military onslaught. The villagers in desperation took the critically injured couple to the Navy base where they left them for the Navy to do whatever they wished to do with the couple."
The state of this couple from Ayakoromo community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State is still unknown at the time of issuing this statement.
'The IYC recall a similar incident a few months ago at the start of the renewed hostilities in the Niger Delta region in the same community.
"There is no oil facility in Naifor Island, Ogbe-Ijoh and none is close to the community. Therefore, there is no singular justification why the Navy has decided to use that particular community as its main target to justify the huge sum of money allocated to them to find the Avengers.''
In its accusation of the Army chief, Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, in a tweet yesterday, gave account of how the soldiers perished, and denied claims by the Army that it arrested 10 of its members, last Saturday, at Oporoza, saying there was no truth in the claim.
The Chief of Army Staff had disclosed last weekend in Port Harcourt that the Niger Delta Avengers were criminals, adding that the group was killing soldiers in locations in the region and vowed that the army would crush them.
Buratai had said: "They have been attacking our troop locations, killing our soldiers. We will not tolerate them. We will deal with them according to the law. We will look for them wherever they are, they are not agitating for anything, and they are just into crime.
'Communities should be patriotic enough to expose these criminals. They have nothing to fear, they should help fish out these criminals killing our soldiers, and we will not tolerate that."
But in response, the militants stated: 'The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General T. Y. Buratai, in his statement said NDA killed Nigeria soldiers, it is a big lie. Chief of Army Staff, we are not the ones killing your soldiers, stop lying."
"The Chief of Army Staff deployed personnel to the creeks without amphibian training, that led to the death of about 50 soldiers. If not for the help of local fishermen, the death rate would have been up to 100.
"He has been lying to his Commander in Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari that NDA are killing soldiers. This is our stand; we have not killed any soldier. If we do, we will claim responsibility because we take pride and responsibility in all we are doing. That is our code.
"Nigeria military also lied that NDA kill soldiers. We have not engaged in combat with them, but if they want us to kill them, let them come after us."
Meanwhile, ex-militants in the Niger Delta yesterday in Sapele, listed conditions for a ceasation in the current spate of bombings of oil installations in the region.
According to the ex-militants, unless the conditions are met by the Federal Government, there would be no respite in the area and more militant groups will emerge.
The conditions, according to their leaders, Paul Toruwei and Anthony Dango, include the fact that the Federal Government must audit all the records of payments made to ex-militants so far from the beginning of the Amnesty programme.
"The Amnesty Office must pay up all outstanding payments to us. It must pay all those who have not been receiving the monthly stipend since 2009.
'The Amnesty Office has lied to the President that it is paying everyone his stipends when it is not paying more than half of us who surrendered weapons to the Federal Government at the commencement of the Amnesty programme.
"The government has since January 2016 stopped the payment of N65,000 monthly stipend to those of us who have finished their school and skill acquisition training. We have no other means of livelihood, so the government must restore the payments.
"We also want the government to correct the false information that the Amnesty Office has fully paid till date over 30,000 recipients their monthly amnesty entitlements of N65,000 each. That is not true, the true position of the actual number of people paid, which is far less than the figure of 30,000 persons, must be revealed to avert further trouble in Niger Delta.
"There would be more bombings and more militant groups will spring up, if these conditions are not met immediately,'' the ex-militants stated.
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