Renewed war in niger delta : The 9-day peace wonder in Niger Delta
Emma Amaize, Vanguard (Nigeria)
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WITH the relative peace enjoyed in the Niger-Delta zone throughout the month of September, it was thought that the inglorious chapter of hostage-taking and killings of expatriates, Nigerians and security agents by militants in the region had come to an end. For some, it was such a huge sigh of relief after the State Security Service (SSS) in Delta state, headed by Mr. Adebayo Babalola in the climax of several kidnaps and other such actions in Rivers and Bayelsa states in the preceding month of August, smashed two profit-making kidnap syndicates, arrested their kingpins and whisked them to Abuja,
Today, it is not exactly so, as could be seen from the armed resurgence during the week, in the month of October, the month of the nation's independence in Rivers state, where five soldiers were killed by militants who attacked a location at the Carthorn Channel in Degema local government and also launched a fresh attack on an oil vessel, Tuesday. More worrisome in the fresh development was the escalation of the turbulence to Akwa-Ibom state, which has never witnessed any kidnap or unrest by Niger-Delta youths in recent history.
Interestingly, the Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC), which claimed to be an amalgamation of the dreaded Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND), Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Front (NDPVF) and the Matryrs Brigade, admitted that its combatants carried out the attacks, even as it condemned commercial hostage takers in the region.
In a statement, entitled: "Release Dokubo-Asari or Get Ready for War", signed by the spokesperson of the JRC, Cynthia Whyte, the group said that if the detained NDPVF leader, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari who is standing trial for treasonable felony by the Federal Government was not released, it would begin another round of grim hostilities "on the Nigerian state and its imperialist collaborators".
Ijaw leader and former Federal Commissioner of Information, Chief Edwin Clark and a number of others had before now, called on the Federal Government to consider the option of the release of Dokubo-Asari so that peace can reign in the region. To Chief Clark, nothing will be too much a sacrifice to make for the sake of peace and safety of both indigenes and foreigners in the troubled region. The elder statesman however counsels against the use of force in actualizing the release of Dokubo, or the realization of the demand for better life in Niger-Delta, saying that the Federal Government should find a political solution and settle the matter out of court.
Other notable Ijaw leaders maintained the same position. But the worry, this time, centres around the fresh outbreak of violence after it seemed in the past few months that the Ijaw nation has finally allowed the law to take its full course following President Obasanjo's insistence that only the judiciary would make a categorical pronouncement on the veracity or otherwise of the charges against Dokubo.
JRC spokesperson, Whyte, however, commended the efforts of the international community, especially the United States and Britain for recognizing the agitation of the people of the Niger-Delta but pointed out that since the Nigerian government does not want to hearken to morality, the revolutionaries have no option than to strike.
There is, however, another dimension to the renewed battle in Rivers axis of the region. Reports say the aggrieved militants have an axe to grind with the authorities there over the role allegedly played in the present travails of Dokubo after he handed over the arms and ammunitions with his boys.
A top security official contacted by Saturday Vanguard said: "It is true that the militants in Rivers state have some unsettled problems but I don't really have the details. You see, I cannot confirm or deny anything now because I don't have the facts but what is happening now is not the entire region. It is an isolated case by some militants in Rivers state.".
Nevertheless, is the agitation for the release of Alhaji Dokubo-Asari enough for the JRC and its allied groups to go the old path of taking hostages and killing the nation's security agents? Can Dokubo's release, which is the major plank of the fresh violence not be handled and achieved through a non-violent means? In the light of fresh information and demands of the Ijaw nation, is it improper for the Federal Government to reconsider its stand on the trial of Dokubo-Asari and hand him over to Ijaw leaders to caution and call him to order? Can the nation not save itself further destruction and killings by these militants by reaching amicable compromise on Dokubo-Asari and other detained ethnic leaders?
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