Four soldiers drown during military’s ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’ in Bayelsa waterways, two bodies recovered

The military on Monday recorded a fatal mishap during the ongoing military drill in the Niger Delta which claimed the life of four soldiers.

Col. Sani Usuman, Acting Spokesman of the Nigerian Army in a telephone chat on Tuesday, confirmed the death of four Soldiers in a boat mishap within Bayelsa waterways.

He said the soldiers drowned during the ongoing military training exercise code named; “Operation Crocodile Smile” after their boat capsised along Brass water front in Brass Local Government Area of the state.

Usuman, however, said that efforts were being made to recover the bodies of the soldiers.

A resident of the area, Mr Jonah Kennedy however disclosed that two bodies had so far been recovered.

According to Kennedy youths in the community were collaborating with the military to ensure the recovery of the remaining two bodies.

Mr Lloyd Sese, a Commercial Boat Operator and Bayelsa Chairman of the Maritime Worders Association while describing the incident as unfortunate, urged the Federal and State Governments to improve emergency response along waterways in the state.

Residents in Bayelsa woke up on Monday to see heady movement of military artillery troops on Monday and raised concerns over their safety as the military did not sensitise the communities in Bayelsa on the operation.

Youth leader urges support for ongoing military operation in Niger Delta

A Niger Delta Youth Activist Mr Preye  Ketebu-Brown has drummed support for the ongoing military operation in the Niger Delta region code named ‘Operation Crocodile Smiles’.

Ketebu-Brown, Vice President, World Assembly of Youth (WAY) made the call in an interview with newsmen, Tuesday in Yenagoa.

The youth leader noted that the ongoing operational training exercise will enhance the skills of the military and reduce operational mishaps due to lack of experience in maritime areas leading to loss of lives.

“The Army’s “Operation Crocodile Smile” in the Niger-Delta Region is a welcome development, provided Nigerian Army will confine it’s duties to it’s constitutional role.

“I therefore urge Youths of the Niger-Delta to see the operation as a source of hope and renewed confidence towards a more secure, stable and investment-friendly Niger-Delta environment; which is the same goal of all agitations

“Youths and indeed the people the Niger-Delta should display our traditional hospitality to the Men of gallantry.    

“However “Operation Crocodile Smile” as a well planned and organized program with set objectives to “Mop-up” the Region should have a definite time-table.

“It is important to share details of this laudable program including its time-table as obtainable in other such military operations in civilian areas. No civil settleent hosts military hardware and soldiers side-by-side civilian residents in peace time,” he said.

The youth leader urged the military to sensitize the  public on the time-line of this operation so as to allay fears and douse the tension and anxiety the operation has brought upon the people.

Ketebu-Brown noted that the exercise will also help the people of the Niger-Delta to prepare for President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign promise of massive clean-up and infrastructural development which expectedly should follow “operation crocodile smile”.

“It shall also serve the Niger-Delta Region and indeed the Nation best if this noble operation is backed-up with military establishments that promote development such as Navy Shipyards, Air Force airfields and military hardware manufacturing industries.

“These facilities will not only guarantee long term operational effectiveness but will also provide jobs and employment opportunities for youths of the Niger-Delta and indeed boost security for rapid clean-up and development of the Region,” Ketebu-Brown said.

The youth activist also appeal for the release of Niger-Delta Youths arrested in Gbaramatu, Warri and environs in the spirit of reconciliation and in view of efforts towards peace in the ongoing dialogue.

He noted that arrest and detention of suspects for  extended periods without trial tend to dent the human rights records of Nigeria and urged the authourities to charge the suspects to court or release them without further delay.

“The recent United Nations ‘Common Country Analysis’ (CCA) on Nigeria referred to such “heavy handed tactics of security forces” as resulting to “the most egregious and dehumanizing human rights abuses” in the Country.

“Such avoidable impression will surely be counter-productive to the administration’s effort and huge investment of time and resources towards attracting Foreign Direct Investments.

“It is indeed a welcome development that the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) has opted for dialogue. I however advise the Federal Government that any planned dialogue should include a cross-section of stakeholders.

“Discussions should be pivoted on sustainable development of the Region and not sub-sectional or parochial interests,” Ketebu-Brown said.

He urged all stakeholders of the region to in good faith, accept the olive branch of the present administration and give its best of intensions for the region a chance to succeed.

Missing $4.6 million saga in Bayelsa : Dickson behind my ordeal, says detained civil servant

Missing $4.6 million saga in Bayelsa : Dickson behind my ordeal, says detained civil servant

Mr. Jonah Okah, who was recently arrested and arraigned for defamation for raising alarm over missing $4.6 million, has accused Governor Seriake Dickson of being behind his ordeal.

 Okah made the allegation in a press statement issued from his prison cell in Yenagoa on Monday.

Okah who is a civil servant in the state was arrested in Yenagoa on August 31 by the police for allegedly defaming the Government House Accountant, Mr. Richard Etonye.

Police had raided the Yenagoa residence of Etonye regarding a purported missing $4.6 million said to belong to Dickson.

Okah had reportedly alleged that Etonye had absconded with the $4.6 million handed over to him by the governor for safekeeping.

However, the accountant had in a  statement to newsmen said that the raid at his residence was illegal and that no money was missing

The Dickson government has imputed political motives to Okah’s alarm and news reports on the alleged missing money.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, said in a statement reacting to the allegation that Bayelsa government was behind Okha’s ordeal that the claims were  false.

Obuebite said that Okah was not being prosecuted by the Bayelsa state government, and the government was not an interested party in the case.

Okah accused Dickson of direct involvement in the matter to punish him for loyalty to former Gov Timipre Sylva in the December 2015 governorship polls.

 Okah dismissed state government’s denial, saying the government’s attitude to the defamation case supposedly involving civil servants confirm that the governor is the one sponsoring the trial.

“In a case of misdemeanor between two civil servants, what is the state government’s interest in clamping down on me with a contingent of armed security personnel?

“In a case of defamation involving two civil servants, what is government’s interest in directing a non-civil servant,  and Solicitor-General/Permanent Secretary to write a petition against me.

“The petition to the Bayelsa Commissioner of Police, claimed that I defamed one Richard Etonye? Whose interest was my illegal arrest meant to serve?” Okah stated,

Okah also queried the involvement of state counsels in a private case between civil servants and accused the governor of conspiring with the magistrate to detain him without “adequate time and facilities” for his defence. 

Niger Delta militants kidnap 15 oil workers near Port Harcourt

Gunmen suspected to be Niger Delta militants have kidnapped 14  oil workers and their driver, police said on Saturday, September 3, 2016.

This is coming on the heels of a ceasefire declared by dominant militants grous, Niger Delta Avenegers and Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta People. .

The abduction took place on a road connecting the towns of Omoku and Elele, near Port Harcourt, Rivers state, in the early hours of Friday as the employees of an oil services contractor Nestoil traveled to work, police said.

"We have recovered the vehicle they were traveling in before the incident occurred. Police are currently combing bushes around the area in a bid to find and release the victims," said Nnamdi Omoni of Rivers Police Command.

"I do not think there was a foreigner among those kidnapped. Their abductors have not made any contact and nobody has been arrested yet," added Nnamdi.

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No Amnesty programme for Niger Delta Avengers, other militants - Boroh

No Amnesty programme for Niger Delta Avengers, other militants - Boroh

 The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta ,(retired) Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh, has said that the Federal Government has no plan to enrol more militants into the programme.

Boroh, who is also the Coordinator Presidential Amnesty Programme, disclosed this when stakeholders of the programme from the Niger Delta region paid him a courtesy visit on Friday September 2, 2016 in Abuja.

He noted that the mandate of the programme under his care was to reintegrate  30,000 ex-agitators captured in the amnesty programme and cannot go beyond the limit to bring in more agitators into the programme.

He also confirmed that the Federal Government had commenced dialogue with the Niger Delta Avengers through the dialogue committee with a view to halting the lingering hostility and bombing of oil facilities in the region.

Boroh, who disclosed this on a television programme/   .

“Amnesty programme worldwide has a limit because it is a master piece strategy to resolve militancy. When that of Nigeria was established in 2009, it was supposed to exist for a particular time.

“I do not intend to bring in more into the programme because that is not my mandate. My mandate is to reintegrate 30,000 ex-agitators into the programme that are already in the programme.

" But this number is bloated because of input from communities affected during the conflicts, government is also taking care of them. Some of them are undergoing skills acquisition and training.

“I do not think that the Federal Government is going to have another amnesty programme, it is very expensive and presently, our economy is not in the right status. So, it should not be a permanent programme.

 “Let us think of how to create jobs and develop the country. It is better to work than think of a programme that will give you a stipend every month,” Boroh said

According to him, the success of the Programme has swelled the ranks of thousands of armed youths seeking to lay down their arms and lead normal lives.

He said its office will collaborate with the Bioresources Development Agency Odi, to equipped with tools and research mechanism needed to develop the youths of the region.

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Ealier, Timi Ogoriba who led the delegation, said they were at the Ammnesty Office to discuss ways to restore peace and stability in the Niger Delta region.

Ogoriba said as part of measures to improve security, geared towards sustainable reintegration of the beneficiaries of the programme, he called on the nine Niger Delta governors to assist integrate the already trained youths through sustainable human capacity development and job opportunities.

Operation Crocodile Smile : IYC alleges military intimidation of innocent civilians

The Ijaw Youth Council ( IYC )  has urged the Federal Government to call the military officers carrying out the ''Operation Crocodile Smile'' to stop harrasing innocent citizens in the creeks.

This is contained in a statement signed by the IYC spokesman, Mr Eric Omare and made available to newsmen

Omare,nin the statement issued to newsmen, alleged intimidation of villagers along the Warri and Forcados rivers in Delta.

He also alleged that for the past two days, villagers plying the rivers had been subjected to undue harassment and in some cases deprived access to their communities.

"From Monday till this morning, several people going to communities like Ogulagha, Odimodi, Ijaw Oborotu, Forcados and other surrounding communities are denied access to these communities.

''This development has now resulted in cases of communities having shortage of food with possible humanitarian crisis.

''This is condemnable and totally unacceptable, the military must have respect for human rights in their activities in the Niger Delta,'' Omare said.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen.Turkur Buratai, on Aug. 27, inaugurated the Operation Crocodile Smile in Sapele, Delta.

Buratai said the operation was not meant to harm anyone but to further boost security in the volatile region.

New militant group Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate claims responsibility for attack on NNPC facility in Delta

A relatively new militant group,  Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDGJM) today claimed responsibility for an attack an oil pipeline in Delta.

The NDGJM in a statement said that it attacked the Ogor-Oteri pipeline operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of NNPC in joint venture with  Shoreline, an indigenous energy firm at around 03:00 a.m.

The joint military force in the Niger Delta could not immediately confirm the incident when contacted on Tuesday August 30, 2016 as they said they were in the process of verifying the claim.

The claimed attack comes less than 24 hours after the Niger Delta Avengers, the dominant group responsible for most attacks in the region said it had halted hostilities.

“The Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate will no longer sit quietly watching the endless harassment of our people in various parts of the region by the Nigerian military,”  ‘Gen’  Aldo Agbalaja said

  “They are now killing our people on the basis of mere suspicion, this cannot continue,”

“With the launch of their ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’, the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate is also serving a notice on the commencement of our ‘Operation Crocodile Tears.’

“ It shall from now on be an eye for an eye; for every military atrocity carried out in the creeks and hinterland of the Niger Delta, the Nigerian armed forces will have the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate to contend with,” the group said..