N’Delta youths promise to help find killers

The Chief of Military Civil Affairs, Major General Nosakhare Ugbo, has hinted that arms and ammunition allegedly carted away by killers of the 17 soldiers in Okuama, Delta State, are still missing days after the military’s invasions of the community.

Ugbo, while fielding questions from journalists at the end of the Nigerian Army Civil-Military Cooperation Media chat held in Asaba, said: “The whole issue is under investigation, but I am telling you that we are still searching for our arms and ammunition. Though we have recovered some, we have not got others. So, the search is continuing.

“Anything about Okuama Community is still under investigation. There is an investigation, and the community is helping the investigators to recover our arms, and also help us identify and arrest the perpetrators of the dastardly act; so, let’s be patient. With time, everything will come out.”

The army boss, who skipped several questions such as, “Who deployed the dead military personnel for the peace mission,” questions about allegations of the personnel escorting illegal oil bunkerers from Okoloba Community and other questions begging for answers, however, gave assurance that details of the ongoing investigations would be made public as soon as they are concluded.

When asked why the military denied the press and other stakeholders access to Okuama Community for a first-hand and on-the-spot assessment of the place, he said: “It is a crime scene. Even in civil crime, they will tap it, everywhere. So, that is a crime scene.”

MEANWHILE, a group, Niger Delta ethnic nationalities’ youth leaders, has pledged to assist the military in finding the killers of the army personnel. Spokesperson of the group, Collins Idowu, who addressed journalists, yesterday, in Abuja, sympathised with the victims’ families. 

“Firstly, we express our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and comrades of the 17 valiant soldiers who were mercilessly slain. 

“Their sacrifice does not go unnoticed, and in their memory, we stand in solidarity with the Nigerian Army. 

“We are committed to providing any assistance necessary, including intelligence, to apprehend those responsible for this heinous act and bring them to justice.”

Idowu called on the Federal Government to be decisive in handling the pipeline surveillance management in the Niger Delta region. He said: “We are cognizant of the complex economic landscape of Nigeria, and firmly believe that the surveillance of our oil pipelines, particularly within the Niger Delta and Delta State, should not be relegated to the backgrounds. 

“The entrusted security of our oil infrastructure cannot, by any means, be placed in the hands of individuals with a history of militancy, which poses a significant threat to the stability of Nigeria’s economic backbone.