– Defends Diri on riot act to traditional rulers
From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
A youth leader in the Niger Delta region and former head of re-integration of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Mr Alfred Kemepado has again called on the military to conduct painstaking investigations into the killings of soldiers in Okuama, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.
Kemepado’s call is coming on the heels of a visit to Igbomotoru, Southern Ijaw Local Government of Bayelsa in company of Bayelsa state governor, Senator Douye Diri.
Diri had visited the community to present food stuffs and cash to the people and also ascertain true state of things after the military invaded the community in search of an ex-militant leader, Endurance Amgbein who was accused of being the mastermind behind the killing of 17 soldiers in Okuama.
Kemepado speaking in an interview on a national television monitored in Yenagoa on Wednesday while confirming that normalcy has returned to the community even with the military presence said the thorough investigation is to ensure some people do not take advantage of the situation to misled the military as it happens in the case of the invasion of the homes of Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark and ex-militant leader, Soboma Jackrich aka Egberipapa.
“We commend the military for their professionalism. When they do good, we should say it.
Our fears had been that Igbomotoru would be raised like Odi or Zaki Biam but that wasn’t the case and we are happy about the safety of properties. The governor has been in touch with the military command from the Chief of Defence Staff to another top military officers. Even the 16 Brigade Commander was with us, so we have this assurance and no reason to doubt the military.
And like we have always said at the beginning of this crisis, innocent people should not die for the sins of the culprits they are looking for. Hopefully we have no reason to doubt the military and people can now go about their normal business.
The most important thing for us is to continue to encourage the military to painstakingly investigate the issues and bring the perpetrators to book, not just the perpetrators but their sponsors. There should be a total root cause analysis of this whole issue so that we don’t have a repeat of the incident. We need to ask relevant questions and ensure that no group of persons is taking advantage of misinforming or misleading the military to carry out operations against perceived enemies.
Kemepado who defended Diri on the directive that traditional rulers that do not stay in their domains and allow crisis to fester risks removal said leaders at the community level must take responsibilities and instil discipline in their domains.
According to him Diri ‘s directive is to ensure traditional rulers take charge and work with the government and security agencies to nip the crisis in the bud.