The military, yesterday, invaded some Ijaw communities in Gbaramatu kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area, Delta State, with gunboats in search of militants, who carried out a three-day bombing of crude oil and gas pipelines in the state, from last Thursday.
This came as ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, wrote President Muhammadu Buhari, alleging that top members of his party, All Progressives Congress, APC, in Bayelsa and Delta states were responsible for the ongoing vandalization of crude oil and gas pipelines in the creeks of Delta state.
Meanwhile, Joint Task Force Commander of Operation Pulo Shield in the Niger Delta, Major General Alani Okunola, said, yesterday, that the task force was closing in on those blowing up oil pipelines belonging the Nigeria Gas Company, Chevron Nigeria Limited and Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPC. He vowed that JTF would fish them out.
Confirming the invasion of the military, the chairman of Okpelama, an Ijaw town in Gbaramatu kingdom, Mr. Moses Yabrade, said that soldiers stormed his community in the midnight of Saturday, breaking houses but stressed that he did not know what they came for.
Following the blockade by soldiers, who reportedly warned leaders of some of the communities to produce the militants vandalizing pipelines in several parts of the state, more riverside dwellers are fleeing their communities because of an unsubstantiated report that the soldiers said they would return tomorrow.
A community leader told newsmen “The soldiers said they would come back and nobody wants to wait for their visit knowing what happened when they bombarded our communities in 2009.”
We’re closing in on perpetrators —JTF Commander
JTF commander, Major General Okunola, who led his troop to inspect one of the blown up pipelines at Egwa II community in Warri South West, said the army would hold community leaders in whose domain such bombing took place responsible for any act of sabotage in their area.
He said that the Federal Government would do all it can to bring the saboteurs of the national assets to book as they were already closing in on the criminals.
Okunola said that henceforth, security agencies would enforce the extant law banning the use of outboard engines with 200 HP and above.
He said the Federal government would not condone any act of sabotage in the country, noting that it would deal ruthlessly with those behind the dastardly act.
The commander described the act as not only criminal but also capable of undermining the national security.
He pleaded with government officials and community leaders to give JTF and other security agencies in the region useful information that would lead to arrest of the perpetrators for prosecution.
According to him, “it was blown up three days ago. We are going to fish out those responsible.
“It was a massive sabotage and critical to national assets. There is no way we will fold our hands and allow the perpetrators to get away with it.
“We do not have our men deployed in the area that is why they have the opportunity to do it.”
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