The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has debunked reports making the rounds that Ijaw youths are planning coordinated attacks on military locations and facilities across the Niger Delta, describing it misleading and unfounded.
President of the apex Ijaw socio-cultural organisation, Prof Benjamin Okaba, stated this in a statement he issued on Sunday while reacting to an alleged intel report directing military formations in the region to be on high alert.
He labelled the claim as fake, saying that there was no such plan, reason or justification that warranted contemplating such devilish plot by the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and any other organisation in Ijaw land.
It would be recalled that some armed youths had on March 14 2024 ambushed and killed 17 officers and men of the Nigerian Army in Okuama in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.
Following the violent incident, the military authorities had deployed troops in Okuama and cordoned off the area, while launching a manhunt on the perpetrators of the dastardly act, as well as extending investigation to Igbomotoru community in neighbouring Bayelsa State.
The INC president, in the statement, said, “As the umbrella organisation of Ijaw people worldwide, our attention has been drawn to an orchestrated report aimed at pitching the Federal Government and military against the Ijaw nation.
“We have carried out diligent investigation and found out that the report is not only fake but a figment of the imagination of those who concocted and generated this delicate, devilish and unfortunate idea.
“The region needs peace, tranquility and development now more than ever. We are all united as Ijaw people in condemning the dastardly acts of the criminals who killed the officers and men of the Nigerian Army.
“We, however, wish to reiterate as in our earlier statements on this subject matter that the military should be more professional in fishing out the culprits. More damages should not be inflicted on the innocent indigenes and that justice be tampered with mercy to the extent of exempting the innocent citizens of the affected communities in their reprisal operations.
“We also wish to use this opportunity to warn and advise members of the political class within and outside the region that they should not take their desperate politics beyond the level of decency.
“The originators of this evil and very dangerous plot are the true enemies of the Ijaw nation. We, therefore, call on all well meaning Nigerians and particularly the military authorities to disregard this fake and unfounded rumour and treat it as such.”
