Call 16 Brigade Commander to order or risk Crisis in the Niger-Delta- Ex-militants tells Tinubu

By Admin

The Coalition of the Niger-Delta Ex-agitators of the presidential Amnesty Programme Phase 1&2, have called on the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Ahmed Bola Tinubu to call the 16 Brigade Commander to order.

The Chairman Phase 1, Gen. Ebite Ifiemi and Phase 2, Gen. Paul Johnson with other Executive members in a media Chat in yenagoa with our correspondent, called on the President to as a matter of urgency call to order the 16 Brigade Commander.

Recall, Sangana community in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State has been thrown into mourning as one youth, Mr. Ikiowori Benson, has been confirmed dead, with two persons still missing and others critically injured after being shot by security agents while carrying out a peaceful protest at sea on Monday.

It was gathered that military personnel attached to an offshore facility named “Antie The Matriarch Julie”, an offshore oil platform in 0ML 59 operated by Consolidated Oil and Gas Ltd. (Conoil), opened fire on the harmless youths when they approached the facility to demand the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Conoil and Sangana.

Confirming the ugly incident, the youth chairman of Sangana, Mr. Ambrose Timipre Ayah told newsmen that he and 10 other youths from the community approached the Conoil facility unarmed, with the sole aim of registering their displeasure with the company.

“I was shocked when they opened fire on us, killing one person instantly, two missing and another two persons receiving treatment at FMC Yenagoa. Up till now, we haven’t found the two missing bodies,” he said.

Also, the Community Development Committee (CDC) Chairman of Sangana, Comrade Rueben Preboye told our reporter that while Conoil has been operating in the community for about 25 years, the company has been delaying the implementation of the MoU.

According to him, “This MoU lasts for three years subject to renewal. The 2013, 2016, 2019 & 2022 MoUs have not been implemented and accumulated over N300m-N420m worth of projects.“

On a yearly basis, the youth wing of the community changes its leadership. By our arrangement, we are to hold four quarterly meetings with Conoil.

”An indigene of Sangana who craved anonymity asserted that the protesters led by the youth president went unarmed.“The youths went to the rig after serving letters to the company and security operatives. They went to the offshore facility in the morning when the ocean was calm, hoping they would give them listening ears to resolve pending issues”

The angry Ex-agitators said, ” where in this modern military operations were a fully armed military personnels open fire on harmless youth of Niger-Delta protesting peacefully to drive home their displeasure if at all they will be attended to”

” It is now clear to us that the Nigeria state does not value the lives and wellbeing of the people of the Niger-Delta, rather, what they are after is the oil sit under the ground of the region. A people that are impoverished, that suffers land degradation, water and atmospheric contamination. people whose environment is destroyed by the reasons of oil exploration when they reacted, begging to ameliorate their pain inform of a peaceful protest. They are been dehumanized, killed by the so called Nigerian military”

” Is it a crime for the Niger-Delta to housed the Natural resources that give the Nigerian economy a face lift. Is it even an evil for the people who sit atop this resource to benefit from it,that we have been subjected to this form of servitude, cannibalise by the Nigerian military especially the 16 Brigade?, they kill, shoot at sight, maimed,destroy villages and communities at will without any resistance?”

“Even the said Presidential Amnesty Programme that is given to us, the past Buhari Administration has been appointing Interim Administrators that are controlled by the National Security Adviser, every benefit of the Programme is being given by the right hand and taken with the left hand. We just bear the name of the people the Programme is meant for but in reality is not so”

” The last Interim Administrator of the presidential Amnesty Programme in the Buhari Administration, in the person of Maj. Gen Barry Tariye Ndiomu. In the very first month of his appointment as the Interim Administrator, base on their directives he delisted thousands of Ex-agitators. This made us to protest in the East-west road, in the process we baricatted it, and the so called Commander of the 16 Brigade invited us to his office with evil intentions”

“So the Nigeria state want us to fold our hands and watch, suffer impoverishment, pain and sorry while the resource in our land been exploited. enough of this servitude and dehumanizing treatment”

“We are sounding this as a warning, calling on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Bola Tinubu and other well meaning leaders of Nigeria and of the Niger-Delta to call the military to order especially this 16 Brigade to avoid the impending danger that will dovetail to another crisis in the Niger-Delta”

The family of those that lost their lives in this ugly situation must be compensated. they added.