Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyin Petinrin, has warned the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) and other unrepentant militants to surrender their arms and embrace amnesty or face the wrath security operatives.

He gave this warning at the Naval Officers Mess in Calabar, Cross River State, on the occasion of Operation NEMO, a four-day joint operation organised in conjunction with the Army and Airforce to test their fighting capability, saying they should “mend their ways before it is too late.”

According to him, “the primary aim of this operation is to drastically curb activities of militant groups and conduct search and rescue of the three oil tankers off Bonny FWB as well as safely escort them to their destination. It is also aimed at testing the operational state of NN ships and aircraft, as well as the capability of NN logistics in supporting and sustaining sea operations.” Continuing, he said before now, the Federal Government gave militants amnesty and they were registered and given cards and had been collecting salaries as ex-militants.

He warned that any ex-militant that went back and began to perpetrate any form of illegality, violence or criminality should be treated as such. Meanwhile, Peeved by the untold hardship and apprehension faced by the Burutu Local Government Riverside communities of Ayokoromo, a group, known as Ayakoromo Federated Community, yesterday vowed to assist the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) to fish out Niger Delta Revolutionary Force (NDRF) militant leader, “General” John Togo, who is on the run.

Communities, which are of the view to get Togo and his group arrested, include Ofenibengha, Omosuomo, Akperemogbene, Eseimogbene and Ogodobiri. One of the leaders of the group, who spoke to Daily Sun, noted that due to the gun battle between the JTF and NDRF, the communities around the troubled area had not known peace. “We have been sleeping with one eye open, not to talk of the hardship experience,” he said. “We cannot go about our normal economic activities and commercial speedboats have stopped plying the route due to the blockade by the JTF.”

He disclosed that the communities had vowed to help the (JTF) to track down John Togo and his boys, saying if not for the timely intervention of prominent sons of Ijawland, their communities would have been the target of destruction by JTF. He also noted that, all neighbouring communities in the Ayakoromo creek were cooperating in making sure that the nefarious activities of John Togo and his group were brought to justice, adding that was the only option to avoid future activities of militancy in the area.

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Posted: at 26-11-2010 12:46 PM (13 years ago) | Gistmaniac

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