Former minister of Defence, Theophilus Danjuma has lambasted Asari-Dokubo, Tompolo and other former Niger Delta militants for threatening to plunge a war if President Goodluck Jonathan is not re-elected.
The former minister didn’t only lambast the ex-Niger delta militants but also demanded their immediate arrest for threatening to plunge the country into war if President Goodluck Jonathan is not re-elected in the February 14 election, PREMIUMTIMES reports.
Speaking during the commissioning of the multibillion naira Kwakwasiya city in Kano, one of the three mega cities built by the administration of Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso, the ex-minister described the statements as “reckless”.
Mr. Danjuma, a retired army general and former Chief of Army Staff, who fought in the Nigerian civil war, said the threats by the militants were not only against national unity but also capable of plunging the country into war.
He further went on to demand that the ex-militants should be immediately arrested and reprimanded by the security agencies and the government.
In his words; “You should arrest Asari Dokubo, Tompolo, Boylop and other Niger Delta militants for making reckless statements, which in any way does not mean keeping Nigeria as one entity and creating war situation”.
The Nigeria Police Force and the State Security Service had recently threatened that they would move against anyone who makes inciting statements in the run up to the February elections.
But since the militants’ comments were reported on January 24, both security agencies are not known to have taken action.
Addressing the Yenagoa meeting, Mr. Dokubo-Asari deplored the alleged intimidation being meted to the people of Ijaw stock in Nigeria, saying the people cannot take it any longer.
He told his colleagues, “For every Goliath, God created a David. For every Pharoah, there is a Moses. “We are going to war. Everyone of you should go and fortify yourself.”
Mr. Dokubo-Asari, who condemned the attack on Jonathan in the north in the ongoing presidential campaigns, maintained that the survival of the Ijaw nation rests in the hands of the militants gathered at the meeting.
On his part, Boyloaf condemned the attack on President Jonathan in the north, saying nobody has the monopoly of violence.
He said there is nothing like one Nigeria, pointing out that oil is the only thing binding Nigeria’s diverse nationalities together.
While maintaining that President Jonathan would win the election, he however said if the north takes the power away from President Jonathan, the people of the Niger Delta region would take their oil back.
He stressed the need for oneness of purpose among the people, urging them to keep their grudges aside and face the present challenges facing the Ijaw nation with solidarity.
”Keep grudges and sentiments apart. We are ready to match them bumper to bumper,” Boyloaf said.
You’d recall that the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, NDPVF, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari; Victor Ben Ebikabowei, aka, Boy Loaf; Government Ekpudomenowei, aka, Tompolo; and other militants had last Saturday announced that there will be consequences if President Jonathan fails to win the 2015 general elections.
