Military ‘ll not tolerate lawlessness in Niger Delta -Chief of Army Staff

Posted by admin Headlines, Niger Delta Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Onyeabo Ihejirika, has advised criminals in the Niger Delta to embrace peace, warning that the military will no longer condone lawlessness in the region.

General Ihejirika, who was on a fact finding tour of the Delta creeks, on Sunday, where the renegade militant leader, John Togo, was threatening the peace and stability of the country, said that the President Goodluck Jonathan government would appreciate rapid development of the country but warned that any act capable of spiling Nigeria’s reputation would be viewed seriously.

The Army Chief, who was accompanied by the Joint Task Force (JTF) Commander, Major-General Charles Omoregie, and other top military officers, met with some inhabitants of Ayakoromo and urged them to maintain the peace at all time, assuring them that the military would not attack them.

“I want to assure you that the soldiers were deployed in this area to maintain peace and not to kill. The only person we are looking for is John Togo, whose evil deeds have resulted in the death of innocent persons,” remarked the Army Chief, reassuring the villagers of their safety.

He explained that development could only come in an atmosphere of peace and promised that all the buildings destroyed during the exchange of fire between John Togo and the soldiers would be rebuilt but advised that the villagers should always give up themselves whenever search was being conducted by the solders.

The villagers, who corroborated the fact that nine persons were killed during the crisis and not 50 or more, were moved to tears as the Army boss hugged them one after the other and they in turn pledged their loyalty to the Federal Government.wp_posts