28 January 2016, Warri – Two first-class monarchs in Delta State, the Olu of Warri Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Ogiame Ikenwoli and the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom, HRM Orhue I, have asked youths in the Niger Delta region to stop bombing crude oil and gas pipelines as a way of drawing government attention to their perceived grievances.
The monarchs, who spoke separately at their palaces when they played host to the Commander-General of Riverine Security Coast Guard of the Federation, Commander Oduku Bibi and his members, said the era of pipeline bombing was over with the successful implementation of the amnesty programme for ex-militants from the region.
Ateke Tom condemns attack on oil facilities
Meanwhile, former Niger Delta agitator, Chief Ateke Tom, has condemned the recent attack on oil facilities in Delta State by suspected ex-militants.
Ateke, who currently is the leader of Niger Delta Vigilante, NDV, admonished youths to desist from acts that threaten the peace and unity of the country, warning aggrieved youths to channel their grievances to appropriate quarters and stop acts of criminality and pipeline vandalism.
Ateke, speaking through his assistant on media, Mr. Ifeanyi Ogbonna, bemoaned the level of destruction done to oil facilities in Delta State, describing the acts as economic sabotage.
“Nobody has the right to take the law into his or her hands for whatever reason, to destroy government property. The oil installation you destroy today has dire consequences on your tomorrow. Poverty is not an excuse to commit crime. This country belongs to all of us and we should not destroy it. We should join hands with the present administration to build a better Nigeria of our dream.”
In another development, Warri, once a rendezvous for ex-militants across the Niger Delta region, has become a no-go area to them in the last few days, following the hunt by the Joint Task Force, JTF, for those who carried out the three-day bombing of crude oil and gas pipelines in Delta State.
Virtually all associates of the former General Officer Commanding, GOC, of Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, have fled Warri because they are under watch by the task force, which had stormed the houses of some of them.
Meanwhile, the two monarchs charged youths of the region to shun kidnapping, pipeline vandalism and all forms of criminality and embrace peace for the speedy development of the region.
They charged Niger Delta youths to embrace the peace initiative of the Riverine Security Coast Guard of the Federation, adding that securing oil installations was the responsibility of all Niger Deltans.
- Vanguard