OIL-rich Egbema kingdom in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State was turned into a theatre of war in the early hours of Sunday as soldiers attacked militants� camps in the area.
Heavily armed soldiers attached to the Joint Task Force (JTF), code named Operation Restore Hope, stormed the various militant camps to recover weapons allegedly acquired by the youth to sustain their nefarious activities in the region.
Security sources told the Nigerian Tribune that the soldiers, backed with many gunboats and other �deadly military weapons� invaded the camps of the militants in the early hours and caught the militants unawares.
It was, however, difficult to ascertain whether there were casualties on the side of the militants or the soldiers, but an undercover agent disclosed that the youth sustained severe injuries and their camps destroyed.
Highly placed sources said the military operation was successful as weapons and ammunition were allegedly recovered from the various camps raided and destroyed.
It was learnt that the special military operation was carried out based on the directive of the Defence Headquarters as part of plans to retrieve some of the weapons allegedly put in circulation in the area by the detained militant leader, Henry Okah.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that prohibited arms and ammunition worth more than N300 million are in possession of militant youths in the Niger Delta based on written testimonies against Mr. Okah.
�Based on evidence against a militant leader, the Defence Headquarters directed all the heads of the special task forces in the Niger Delta to launch operations to end militancy and retrieve prohibited weapons in the region,� he disclosed.
The source said the operation, which started in Bayelsa State last Thursday, was extended to Delta State on Sunday and that it would be ongoing until there was sanity in the Niger Delta.
Yesterday�s raids were against Ijaw communities in Egbema, particularly, Ajakuruma, Ofinama, Ogbeimbiri, Ogbudugbudu and Abere, where the camps belonging to the Niger Delta Freedom Fighters, a.k.a. Egbema 1, and the Deadly Underdogs were razed down and assorted weapons recovered.
Reacting to the development, the Secretary of the Federal Government Committee on Peace and Conflict Resolution in the Niger Delta, Honourable Kingsley Kuku, described the action of JTF as unwarranted and unacceptable to the people of the Niger Delta.
Commander of the Joint Task Force, Brigadier Wuyep Rimtip, could not be reached for comments as his mobile phone was switched off but a top official of the force who preferred to be anonymous confirmed the attack.