…Threatens To Deploy Troops To Enforce Peace Deal
SAN FRANCISCO, August 06, (THEWILL) – Following last week’s hostility and wanton destruction of property in Ugborodo,Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, the Nigerian Military Task Force has handed down a week ultimatum to the defiant youth groups in the community within which to honour the Federal Government- brokered peace plan or be ready to face the full wrath of the law through the deployment of troops to crush any opposition.
“I am sounding it clearly to the elders, leaders and the youths. This is your last chance. You have one week to go home, sit among yourselves and agree to allow displaced persons return home in peace, Commanding Officer of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS Delta), Navy Captain Musa Gemu, who led the Task Force, told the community.
The ultimatum, followed the renewed hostility in Ugborodo, where defiant factions controlled by David Tonwe have stuck to their guns, demanding that the displaced people atone for their ‘sins’ before they could be reabsorbed, thus leaving the FG/Delta State Government-negotiated truce which seeks the unconditional resettlement of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in tatters.
The recalcitrant group largely controlled by Tonwe had unilaterally given fresh condition for peace to reign. The group wants all the people jailed in the community even six years back for one offence or the other to be released unconditionally.
They are also demanding the release of the corpses of those killed during the crisis for burial and that all those who committed ‘crime’ against the community should come back to apologise and receive proper punishment from the community.
Fresh crisis had erupted in Ugborodo after ‘foot-soldiers’ loyal to the arrow heads in the Ugborodo crisis engaged themselves in crude oil bunkering-related ‘war’, in a reprisal attack that led to the burning of houses and destruction of cars worth millions of naira. The crisis stemmed from the long-drawn rivalry between Hon. David Tonwe and Chief Thomas Ereyitomi who have been on each other’s throat over Ugborodo Trust leadership.
But addressing the stakeholders meeting at the naval base in Warri, the Commanding Officer, NNS Delta, Gemu, who had been mandated alongside a committee set up by the Delta State Government to ensure the peace agreement is implemented, warned those still fomenting trouble in the area to give peace a chance otherwise the military would have no option than to also drop its end of the bargain.
The meeting attended by community stakeholders, including the Olaja-Orori (Spiritual Head) and Chief Ayiri Emami of the Thomas Ereyitomi led faction was however boycotted by Tonwe, who is being accused of working against the enforcement of the peace deal which entails resettlement of the displaced persons.
The meeting which had five representatives from each faction also attracted youths from Aruton, Madangho, Ogidigben and Ajudaibo as well as Austin Oborogbeyi, Chairman EPZ Interface Committee and representative from the Police, Army and the Air Force Command in Warri.
Gemu at the meeting said that after one week, the Task Force might use its military might to enforce the terms of agreement which was reached by both sides at the naval headquarters in Abuja in May.
One of the articles in the agreement is the unconditional resettlement of those who fled the communities during the crisis.
“This is not my personal decision. It is part of the peace accord your leaders on both sides signed with the Federal Government in Abuja,” Gemu said.
He added: “I want to receive a positive feedback at the end of the week. After then we will not tolerate any more act of lawlessness. It is not the desire of government to apply force. But we would have no other option if you fail to respect the peace deal.”
In his response, the Olaja-Orori, Benson Omadeli, said: “I feel some leaders have shielded the Federal Government’s peace agreement from the youths in Aruton and Madangho. My view is that copies of the resolutions be made available to everybody, so we all, particularly the youths, know when we are violating the orders already signed by the leaders.
Speaking in the same vein, Chief Ayeri Emami, who expressed concern at the absence of Tonwe at the stakeholders meeting, said, “there is no one who is not aware here that each faction has its stronghold in Ugborodo. We are aware that Aruton and Magangho where the violent youths are resisting the Navy from resettling displaced persons are not our stronghold.”
“So when those who these youths are loyal to continuously stay away from meetings like this, it tells where the problem lies,” he maintained.
But speaking earlier to journalists, Tonwe, who is the leader of the warring faction, said nobody would force the community to reabsorb the said displaced person until they fulfill the rites required of them by Ugborodo tradition, for the atonement of the sacrilege they allegedly committed against the community.
According to him, any attempt to coerce the community against the dictates of its customs and traditions in the matter of reabsorption, would spell doom, noting that it was a community matter, which had a long list of precedents.
He said that peace would not be achieved in the community by the use of force, rather the concerned authorities should see to it that the right things were done in the matter, even as he warned that the people would not succumb to intimidation.
“Some other people have gone through the same process before; the Olaja-Orori went through it,
the Eghara-Aja went through. Nobody is above the law and tradition. You are dealing with military people and military people don’t care about whatever you say. What they are saying now is that we want peace and let me tell you that is where we have problem in this country; the process of achieving peace is not by force, it’s by dialoguing, it’s by negotiation, it’s by discussing.
“Even in the meeting at the naval base, an elderly man stood up, Abeokutan Anderson, and told the naval chief that these people have committed a crime, which is a sacrilege and they need to go and appease the gods of Ugborodo community and they shouted him down there, saying the issue was not for there. You cannot use force, except you want to kill everybody. You are now trying to use force, imposing people so that they can forget about their culture and tradition.
“If they want peace, let them follow that process, we don’t even need a naval man to take them back to the community, we don’t need any force to bring them to the community. If the community resolves that because you don’t want to do this you will be out of the community for three years. It is our own custom and tradition”, he said.
Gemu while also expressing disappointment at the absence of Tonwe had urged the Olaja-Orori to “take responsibility for passing the decisions reached at the meeting to Tonwe.
“He was informed of the meeting and was supposed to be here as others. Tell him that the decisions are binding,” Gemu said.
Speaking to THEWILL in a telephone conversation, the Naval chief said it was disheartening that the faction controlled by Tonwe was not adhering to the peace agreement which both factions had agreed to maintain, saying the Task Force would no longer tolerate the insolence of the group .He maintained that it was wrong to banish people from their own community in the name of tradition.
He said after the ultimatum, the navy, army and police team would be deployed alongside the displaced persons to Ugborodo, adding that any youth who tries to stop the movement of people back to their home would be crushed, saying ‘enough is enough for the unrest in Ugborodo”.
It would be recalled that the recalcitrant youth groups allegedly loyal to Tonwe had in several occasions confronted the navy team in Aruton perceived to be the stronghold of militia youths who had been used to prosecute the Ugborodo crisis for years whenever the government team constituted to resettle the displaced persons as one of the article in the peace agreement tries to implement the pact.
