The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has described members of a new militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), as criminals.
Buratai, a former Commander of the 2 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, also admonished Nigerians to expose the NDA fighters, who had been bombing pipelines and other oil installations, as well as other criminals in their midst.
The army chief spoke on Monday at the 2 Brigade, Port Harcourt, after the inauguration of soldiers’ accommodation and 500 KVA generator, donated by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Buratai was accompanied to the event by the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division, Enugu, Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and the Commander of 2 Brigade, Brig.-Gen. Steve Olabanji; among other top army officers.
He said: “Whatever these criminals (Niger Delta Avengers) are doing is a criminal act. We will deal with them accordingly. We are looking at all the areas that we should address and we are doing that, including the criminals in the name of Niger Delta Avengers. They are not avenging anything. They are criminals.
“Nobody has offended them (Niger Delta Avengers). They have their own criminal intentions and we will deal with them accordingly. They have been attacking our troops’ locations and killing our soldiers. We will not tolerate that. We will deal with them accordingly, according to the law.
“We will look for them wherever they are. That is how we will treat them. They are not agitating for any enclave or any state. They are just committing criminal acts. That is how we see it.”
