Jonathan to meet militants as Avengers deny break up

The Niger Delta Avengers, yesterday, said the group remained a unit without a splinter group, adding that those claiming to be breakaway members of the NDA are impostors. There were also indications, yesterday, that former President Jonathan is meeting with key members of the Avengers and other known militant groups, with a view to dousing the tension in the region, as well as avert deployment of soldiers and military hardware to the region.

The Bayelsa State-based Niger Delta Peace Agenda (NDPA) confirmed that the former president was meeting ‘quietly’ with some militant leaders and has sent out emissaries to stakeholders in the region, with a view to convening an all-encompassing dialogue/peace session. The group, however, said any “deceptive peace process would be rejected by the people.”

In a statement by the NDPA, yesterday, and signed by Timie Boroh, the group cautioned all Niger Delta militants to listen to the former president and Ijaw leaders to give peace a chance in the region.

In a terse message, yesterday, the Avengers denied claim by the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) that it broke away from its fold. It said: “The NDA is too busy at the moment to be distracted by people like Jude Kekyll. He is not part of us and cannot be part of us. All our operatives are united and we are all together.”

Alleged cracks in the Avengers’ ‘house’ was revealed by the splinter RNDA, when it issued a statement on Friday night, claiming to be a breakaway faction of the NDA, while threatening to expose those sponsoring the Avengers.

The splinter group, which has been accused of being sponsored government functionaries to undo the principal body, said it broke away in protest against the continued attacks on pipelines and critical oil infrastructure.

The RNDA, in a statement by its spokesperson, Cynthia Whyte, said in part: 
“We will also cooperate with the government by exposing the identities of our comrades, who remain stubborn in their insistence to continue attacks. For example, it will shock the nation to know the Jekyll and Hyde personality behind the pseudonym ‘Brigadier General Murdoch Agbinibo’ and our sponsors.

“We also use this opportunity to call on the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, to take advantage of the olive branch concession secured by MEND and renounce the Biafra question which is an anachronism. Those advising Mr. Nnamdi Kanu to do otherwise neither love him nor 
appreciate the level of treason this 
simple act of common sense and 
humility can extricate him from.”