Must Read! This Are The 4 Reasons Why Niger Deltans Must Speak Against Militants

In the past few months, the re-insurgence of militants in the Niger Delta region have crippled economic activities in Nigeria.

The militants despite destroying oil and gas facilities in the region have also given various conditions to stop their attacks and embrace peace.

However, a new group in established within the region, New Niger Delta Emancipation Front has warned these militants to close shop and look inward rather than continue with its destruction.

The group through its spokesperson Lucky Humphrey also hailed the deployment of military personnel under the ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’ to restore sanity to the area.

Below are reasons the group said the Niger Deltans must consider and speak against the militants and their activities:

1. Military presence crucial to peace

The New Niger Delta Emancipation Front said the presence of the military personnel in the region is crucial to rescuing the region’s larger population who have become human pawns to a vocal minority made of the militants and their sponsors.

2. Militants only imposing their decision on the entire region

The front said residents in the Niger Delta region must speak out because the militants in their attacks only aim at committing various atrocities even against the larger populace.

It also said the militants are only focused on imposing their decisions on the entire area without having held consultations with anyone on what they want.

3. Blackmail against FG and the people

The front advised the residents in the region to speak because, it believes thing could have become worse if the federal government had succumbed to the blackmail of individuals resisting military presence in the Niger Delta.

The front said these individuals did so under the pretext of calling for negotiation while what they were actually doing was “buying time for their boys (militants) to mobilize and gather more weapons.”

It also commended the effort of the Nigerian president in ignoring the media hype by some of the sponsors of the militants.

4. Global economic melt down

The front said the Niger Deltans must know that the militants who are not unaware of the global economic melt down would have resorted to their old ways of kidnap for ransom but for the vigilance of the military.

Humphrey said had this happened, only the celebrity kidnap victims would get reported and attract security intervention while the poorer families would become prey to the small ransom kidnap syndicates that would operate freely.

“It is in the same vein we advise our people who have been misled into taking up arms to discard them and structure their intervention for the Niger Delta within the framework of the legitimate platforms for expressing dissatisfaction by law abiding Nigerians,” Humphrey said.

“Unrepentant militants should note that the rest of the Niger Delta would move forward without them in the event that they suffer the consequences of refusing to disarm. We know from recent experiences that the arms they bear against the government is not for the general well being of the Niger Delta population but for some narrow interest for which they are prepared to commit crimes,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian army on Tuesday, September 6, recorded a major victory in the region.

The military in one of its “Operation Crocodile Smile” nabbed a Niger Delta Avengers kingpin, Isaac Romeo.