Must See: 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.”