IYC Demands Release Of Detained Kinsmen …Says Arrest Is Against Spirit Of Dialogue

Ijaw youths are demanding for
the immediate release of their kinsmen apprehended by the military troops carrying out operations to fish out militants and pipeline vandals in the area.
The youths under the aegis of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) said that arresting innocent persons when Federal Government should be laying the farmework for dialogue with the Niger Delta people smacked of unreliability.
A statement by spokesman of IYC Friday, Mr. Eric Omare, noted that Federal Government could not in one breath declare ceasefire and at sametime force-fully invade Ijaw communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom of Delta State under the guise of searching for militants.
The statement said the latest arrest of three more persons in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State and arrest of four other persons at Tebijoh Community also in same council on Wednesday was a clear breach of the agreement to retreat from the communities.
“While we do not support sabotage of oil facilities considering the negative effects on our environment, the IYC seriously frowns and condemns the continuous invasion and harassment of Ijaw  communities and innocent people by the military under the guise of looking for pipeline vandals”, he said.
According to him, military men invaded Tebijoh community in Gbaramatu clan with sporadic gun shots from both sides of the community and arrested six youths of the community.
He gave the names of those arrested as: Eddy Ikpidi, Tekena Uka, Dboy Oboko, Jamaica Oboko, Coasta Kelly Tortor and Atani Yawuru on the basis that they were suspected pipeline vandals.
The statement maintained that the military has no reason to embark on continuous invasion and arrest of the community people in the name of searching for the Avengers, stressing that the community and its people are law-abiding.
“The continuous invasion of the Ijaw communities is a demonstration of lack of sincerity on the part of the Federal Government to genuinely dialogue with the people of the Niger Delta region to address the renewed militancy and issues affecting the region”, IYC said.

Chris Oluoh