Ijaw Youth Calls For End To Military Bombardment in Bayelsa Communities, Wants Authority To Avert Repeat Of Odi Massacre

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Frontline Ijaw Youth group, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, has called for a stop to the overnight military bombardment of some communities in Bayelsa State.

The group claimed in a press release signed by its President, Eric Omare, claimed that there has been heavy shelling at Toru-Ndoro Community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, from Saturday the 6thof January to the early hours of Sunday, the 7th of January, 2018.

It further explained that  it has received several distress calls from residents and indigenes of Toru-Ndoro Community to the effect that military officers who are purpotdly on a manhunt for alleged killers of a security operative have invaded and burnt more than fifty houses.

The IYC in the strongest terms condemned the alleged beheading of a security operative by some criminals operating within the Ndoro axis and affirmed its strong support  for all efforts to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to justice.

The group in no unclear terms condemned  the situation whereby a whole community is visited for the sins of others. It also warned against the Odi, Bayelsa and Ajapa, Ondo State incidents, whereby innocent civilians were annihilated over the sins of some individuals.

The group said; ”However, we hold the strong view that it is extremely wrong and condemnable for security agents to invade and burn down an entire community in the name of looking for criminals just as it has happened in other Niger Delta Communities such as Odi in Bayelsa State, Ajapa in Ondo State, Ajakarama in Delta State and now Toru-Ndoro in Bayelsa State.

” We demand that the few persons who are involved in criminality should be separated from the rest of the community and made to face the full weight of the law. In most cases, the people and communities where these criminal elements operate from are usually the first victims of their criminal activities.

”At the time of issuing this press statement, the where about of Mr. Bonny Gawei, an ex-militant leader from Ogulagha Kingdom, Delta State who accompanied the beheaded security operative to Ndoro on a peace mission is still unknown despite the fact that he too is Ijaw.

”The IYC, the Ijaw Nation in particular and Niger Deltans in general do not support the activities of the few criminal elements. We have severally expressed our determination to work with security agencies to fish out these criminals because it is not part of our way of live.

”However, the entire community must not be made to suffer for the crimes of few persons. If these were to be the case, then all the communities in the Boko Haram infected North East of Nigeria would have been burnt down by now. The IYC wonders why the people and Communities of the Niger Delta are always given different treatment by security agencies.

”Consequently, we call on Commander in Chief, President Buhari, Minister of Defence, the Chief of Army Staff and the Commander of the Operation Delta Safe to as a matter of urgency stop the ongoing invasion and burning of Toru-Ndoro Community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State while efforts are made to bring the criminals who beheaded the security operative to justice”

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