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Dokubo-Asari: FG deploys 3,000 cops to Niger-Delta
akanimo Sampson
Bureau Chief, Port Harcourt
Tension is now mounting in the Niger-Delta following the
deployment of a total of 3000 security men to monitor loyalists of Alhaji Asari
Dokibo, leader of the Niger-Delta People Volunteer Force (NDPVF), who recently
withdrew from the peace pact with the federal government.
The deployment, Saturday
Independent gathered, is at the behest of the
federal government which feels threatened that the withdrawal would ultimately
lead to Asari’s men going back to the creeks to wreak havoc.
This is even as an alleged plan by
some unidentified persons to disrupt oil installations in the area has been
uncovered.
The security men are made up of 1000
Mobile Police with others drawn from, Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), State Security Services (SSS),
Navy, Air force, and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
It was learnt that Obasanjo and
Governor Odili of Rivers State were becoming uncomfortable with the utterances
of Asari since the peace was brokered in Abuja.
The president and Odili were said to
be of the belief that Asari might have been enjoying external and internal
support going by his flamboyant life style.
The rebel leader is believed to have
been paid N74m after he had surrendered his weapons.
In the heat of the Niger Delta
crisis, the federal government deployed military personnel from different
security units nationwide to
station in Warri, Delta State under the Umbrella of “Operation
Restore Hope”.
This has not been dismantled before
the present deployment.
In the meantime, leader of the NDPVF
has reportedly recruited another batch of 4,000 youths who would be trained for
the battle ahead.
Saturday Independent gathered that the recruitment drive
which was carried out in Buguma and Kalabariland witnessed interested youths
from various parts of the Niger-Delta region who voluntarily came forward for
the exercise.
Although there was no official
response from the leadership of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force
(NDPVF), a militia group galvanised by Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari for the
planned disruption, Saturday Independent gathered that the group was secretly recruiting
fighters.
Dokubo-Asari, who recently pulled
out of the peace process, alleging that the authorities were not sincere, is at
the moment claiming that the Federal Republic of Nigeria is an “evil
state”.
The NDPVF boss is alleging that
Abuja was not willing to play ball on their demand for socio-economic and
environmental justice in the oil-producing region. According to him, “I
am not afraid of my life in this struggle because I am not better than those
who have lost their lives in this struggle for resource control and
justice”.
The police have however, warned that
there was no cause for alarm even as they had warned Dokubo-Asari to watch his
utterances. Assistant Police Commissioner in-charge of Operations, Mr. Tunde
Sobulo, says the police were ready for trouble makers.
He said that security agencies in
the Rivers State axis of the Niger Delta, were on the red alert to contain any
unpleasant situation.The police chief had earlier counseled cult and militia
groups to jettison any plan to take the law into their hands once more,
claiming that such a move would be counter-productive.
Amid the alleged drum beat for
renewed violence, Chairman of the Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV), Mr. Ateke Tom,
Dokubo-Asari’s rival and a principal factor in the Rivers conflict, has
called for a major overhaul of Nigeria’s intelligence structures.
Ateke, who was speaking in an
interview with Saturday Independent said the country’s national security effort was
incomplete unless it adequately addressed the unfolding community security
problems.
The Okrika warlord said his group
was prepared to cooperate with government to ensure that there was safety of
life and property in the Niger Delta, saying, “we are not in support of
any renewed violence in the Niger Delta.
“We are of the view that it is
too hasty to conclude that government was not sincere in addressing our
problems. Much as we agree that the Nigerian state has not been fair to the oil
communities, we do not believe that heating the system will solve the problem.
We have resolved to engage the government in a dialogue”, he said.
The militia leader said the
ethno-religious and communal conflicts in the country were exacerbated by
socio-economic problems and manipulation by the political elite. “We are
advocating a coherent policy response in terms of putting in place a mechanism
for early warning signals, conflict prevention, management and
peace-building”, he added.
To contain the perennial unease in
the oil region, Ateke suggested that government should be more aggressive in
embarking on more youth-specific programmes that would harness the potentials
of the Niger Delta youths.
“Our suggestion may not sound popular, but experience
has shown that popular appeal seldom protects the public. Only community
involvement in the security system whether in the Niger Delta or any other part
of Nigeria, will guarantee lasting peace”, he added.
At the time of going to press, there
was very high uncertainty about the peace situation in Okrika. The exiled Bush
Boys were reportedly planning an attack to rout out the Ateke Tom boys. The
entire game plan it was learnt, hinged on the governorship race in 2007.
Our correspondent who went to Okirika by boat observed the
presence of soldiers who searched thoroughly everybody alighting from the
boats.
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