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Niger Delta: Army Bombs Militants
June 25, 2008 16:51, 837 views
By Okafor Ofiebor/ Port Harcourt
The Nigerian armed forces may have heeded the directive of President Umaru Yar’Ardua to smoke out militants of the volatile Niger Delta from their camps, as reports have it that the camps of the faceless Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta were allegedly bombed in the early hours of today.
According to Cynthia White, the Spokesperson of MEND, the Joint Revolutionary Council and the Martyrs Brigade, in an e-mail to P.M.News in Port Harcourt this morning : “At about 20.00 hrs GMT and unto this hour, today 24th June 2008…camps belonging to revolutionary and heroic combatants of the struggle for the liberation and emancipation of the Ijaw and Niger Delta territory are being bombed by the armed forces of the Nigerian state.”
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The statement further alleged that in defiance to the forces of the Nigerian state, the leader of the attacked camps has successfully advanced into the ranks of soldiers of the Nigerian state, and has dealt them great casualties in a manner that has never been seen before in the history of warfares in Black Africa.
The group vowed that there would be no respite and “Ijaws will not allow our own suffer alone.”
They said that the unilateral declaration of ceasefire has been called off.
They alleged that the Nigerian state has declared war on the people of the Ijaw and Niger Delta.
Cynthia Whyte has directed that “all combatants and fighters are hereby called upon to take up judgment against any and every agent of the Nigerian state and her imperialist collaborators such as Shell Petroleum Development Company.”
At the time of filing in this report, there was no response to our e-mail sent to Jomo Gbomo, the spokesman of MEND, to confirm or deny the claim that the militants’ hideouts had been bombed by Nigerian soldiers.
Meanwhile, the Police in Rivers State patrolled some major roads in Port Harcourt with armourd personnel carriers today, and over 15 trooper vehicles were seen sending messages perhaps that they are on the alert.
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Boogie Taliendo
25 June 2008 17:06It is time you stopped vacillating on your course of action for your agenda for the Niger Delta. Pay them back in thier own coin, ditto their imperialists!
Segun
25 June 2008 17:34The chicken has definitely come to roost! I think there are many ways of peacefully showing your grievances against perceived injustices. These so called militants took things too far against the State and their people who they kidnap and terrorise. Whatever made them think they have a chance against a regular Army?
JABO
25 June 2008 18:27It seems we are approaching the beginning of the 2ND CIVIL WAR in Nigeria. Watch out. Do not say, I did not tell you.
Michael Ukhuegbe
25 June 2008 18:37He who makes Peaceful Changes impossible will make violent changes inevitable….the Nigerian State have treated the issue with kid gloves for too long and the militants and innocent people may suffer. What pains me most is that after war, after killings, after destruction…the roundtable…as in dialogue will be the last resort…why fight in the first place?
Eme Uche
25 June 2008 18:46Cynthia White will only succeed in deceiving her likes. By saying that the militants “dealt them great casualties in a manner that has never been seen before in the history of warfares in Black Africa” is nothing but a blatant misrepresentation of the facts because we know the total number of men of the armed forces that were sent for the operation.
Kunle Ade
25 June 2008 19:05Enough of these Criminalities, there are several ways to show your anger rather than taking arms against your father’s land. It is so unfortunate that the most celebrated Human right activist, Ken Saro Wiwa is no more; he worked for Niger Delta Emancipation not by the barrel of Guns and his name will for ever remain in our heart. How does hostage taking relates to Niger Delta Struggles?
Igiri Oke
25 June 2008 19:31Military option will not solve Niger-Delta problem.
The best option is to call LGA chairmen and State Govts of the region to come up with marshal plan. They dont need federal to do it for them. it is their area, they no best, let them come up with plans on how to develop the region, not to be shouting niger delta, niger delta. Shouting will never solve the problems.
Each LGA should submit memoranda on how to develop their respective LGAs and submit it to their state Govt, the the state Govt will analyze and agree on what to do with the LGAs before forwarding it to the presidency. The Presidency CAN NOT solve the niger-delta problems without involvement of the people of that region! it is time the niger-delta, through their LGAs, reps, senator, etc come together and develop marshal plan.
If presidency gives all the money that belong to Nigeria to niger-delta, the problem will be more and the region will be worse! Money is not the problem, after all, the region collects more money that other regions of the country! if ekiti state can collect average of 3.5b every month and bayelsa collects 25b, so why the noise of being under developed???? what did they do with the monthly 25b???????? bayelsa has only 8 LGAs!
I think the niger-Delta question is more of LGAs and states in that region, What are the LGA/States doing with the huge allocations?
NDDC is there, what have they contributed to the Niger-Delta?. I laugh when i hear people shout that Niger-Delta should be developed.
Is it the federal govt that will provide water through bore to the niger-delta communities ? how much is a bore hole? less than 150K. Is it the federal govt that will construct less than 20km road linking the villages? The answer is NO!. in my humble opinion, i think the major responsibilities of developing Niger-delta lies in the LGAs and the States of that region!. Federal is meant to facilitate and support, not to shoulder the major responsibilities. Even if the federal is failing in its main responsibilities of providing basic infrastructures for the whole country, i think each state should also embark on developmental projects, not to sit down and be shouting neglect in the name of niger-delta.
Each LGA in Niger-delta collects average of 80m 100m every month! what are they doing with the money????????
Gold from PHC
sunny Aixue
25 June 2008 21:46The parcel (war) which the Nigeria state has ordered may be delivered soon,if the government opts for bombs instead of a true TALK.
Oluseyi Said
26 June 2008 09:19Thanks to the Nigeria Army, i have my trust in them that they can still do better in arresting all this so called militant that have being disturbing our nation. Pls ride on ride on ride no Nigeria Army. Fight to finish the battle line has being drawn to revenge no surrender. But pls take note not to attack innocent citizen and the helpless once but pls ensure that you floush them out and bring them to justicee.
Opal
26 June 2008 10:29In every warfare the innocent suffer the most. Women,Children,The Old and Innocent Youths,
Our perspective of underrating the law of tactical warfare will be our doom.
The law of tactical warfare is when a minority with a strong will take up arms against the oppressor who outnumber them 10-1 and they are faceless and remain in the terrain they knows best,the oppressor is easily defeated.
Those who thinks the militants are inexperience in the act of warfare should ask Charles Taylor,Joseph Kabila,Fidel Castro and their likes how they overcame.
The only solution to the Niger-Delta is bring development to that area and pay them compensation. With it peace will be a mirage and the whole of Nigeria cannot defeat the militants unless the whole of Niger-delta is turned into a graveyard and all oil installations is destroyed.
Robert Akani
26 June 2008 10:41Cynthia Whyte, please keep it up. you guys should remain forget BUT pls remove the bad eggs from you people. I am impressed that you were able to chase the soldiers aways. let them come back. may of them will have their corpses drowned in the sea water. nigeria has done enough.. get your acts together and do ur own.
joe agbaje
26 June 2008 10:42Theres so much insincerity on both parts ,these militants are not sincere ,they are not fighting for the land and people, they are criminals hiding under emancipation, sabotaging companies that is generating money for the development they claim. theren is insicerity on the government part too, sometimes one wonder why the delay in dealing, with these militants but the truth is that many people in government are involved with their sharing of money and sharing of informations.
Jerry
26 June 2008 13:40All the foreign aids coming into the country are either cornered to the West or the North. And now the Nigerian State have decided to use military weapons bought with the Niger Delta money and the military trained and maintained with same money to flush the Deltans from the surface of the earth.
If what the Deltans are agitating for is not true, why did the Nigerian State (OBJ and Yar’ Adua) begged the UN to treat this matter as an Internal crisis rather than an International crisis.
The Nigerian State have cheated the Niger Delta in every ramification. For instance, it is only one Bayelsan that is shortlisted for interview in the so-called PTDF Ph.D foreign scholarship program for the 2008/2009 session. In fact, the number invited from all the Niger Delta States put together does not equal the number invited in 3 Western or Northern States. Go and find out. The publication is there in the daily newspapers.
Ask the oil companies how many Niger Delta youths have they trained? How many have they employed? There must be a quota for the Deltans in everything the government and companies do. It is a global best practice. Be it Houston, Aberden or Oman.
We have criminals everywhere, be it Kano, Kaduna, Lagos or Ibadan. Go and fish the criminals from the militants by whatever means and dialogue with the genuine agitators of the system. History is replete in the world, no govt has succeeded in using force to suppress the demands of the people of a genuine course like that of the Niger Delta.
The imperial state (Nigeria) can only “kill the messengers but they cannot kill the message”. The struggle has just started.
Razak Ugwi
26 June 2008 13:45The end to this Niger Delta crisis is pretty far from being addressed. To me more lives are still going to be wasted, because the Federal Government to a larger extent is not sincere with herself. They are playing hide and seek game and before they know it, the whole issue will go out of control. Saro Wiwa had predicted what is happening today, but he was not taken seriously. To wosen the whole issue now the Federal Gov. now appointed Ibrahim Gambari to make peace where as he was an achitect of war in the same region some years ago. Only God will save the situation.
pelu
26 June 2008 14:49Thank God that Nigeria Goverment has worken up from its deep sleep.Govt has wasted alot of time on Niger-Delta issue.This is welcome development becouse I dont know who this Militant are fighting for.Lets watch for Superior between Nigeian Army , MEND and etc.
ebi tombra
23 January 2010 18:35MEND has shown that we are capable to cnfront the nigerian state any day to defend our people.The surrender of the likes of tompolo and others has begoted the new kids on block that will win the peoples war against any failed state.With Yaradua sickness we are waiting personaally for the prediction ofUSA on the breaking of nigeria and the evil men will drell oil from there desert “shebi o”