IT was supposed to be a top secret document but, by hook or crook, the guarded memo with reference number, TFRH/25/G, written by the commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF), otherwise known as Operation Restore Hope, Effurun Barracks, Delta State, Major-General Lawrence Ngubane, to his boss, the chief of defence staff, CDS, on the operations of militants in the Niger-Delta and how the task force intends to checkmate them, leaked or, rather, got into the hands of the militants themselves. * �How Cdr Jackson bombed VP Jonathan�s home�
* Dossiers detail leaders strengths
To a student writing his West Africa School Certificate (WASC) examination, such kind of thing is known as �Expo� but in the military, the seepage is something more than that. It could be likened to a mutiny, and already, it is generating ripples in military circles and militant camps.
Entitled, �Strategies to stem out militant activities within the Joint Task Force, Operation Restore Hope area of responsibility,� the 26-page manuscript is the most insightful paper in recent times, detailing the names of the militant groups in the region, their leaders, weapons in their possession, location of their camps, how the JTF perceives their potency, their Achilles� heel, how the military can overrun them and implications of military onslaught.
It was obvious that whoever prepared the brief did a thorough job of it and that the task force had infiltrated the camps of the militants without them knowing. With the peace process between the Federal Government and the militant groups, which resulted in the superficial cutback in hostage taking in the region since the President Umaru Yar�adua government came on board, still on course, the document, marked secret on all its pages, should have been kept secret, but, evidently, that was not the case, and the omission or otherwise of the squealers has caused the government a critical credibility crisis in the negotiations.
Acting according to script: If you were taken aback by the recent bombardments carried out by the JTF on the Rivers warlord, Ateke Tom, when it was clear that Ateke had repented and was helping to talk to militants, both in his camp and elsewhere, to accept the government olive branch, your doubt would evaporate when you read the secret document. The offensive was not accidental; it was a planned operation by the task force. In fact, the second option given to the CDS by the JTF was to conduct massive attacks on at least two of the major camps (one each in Bayelsa and Delta states respectively). �The successful routing of major camps in both states would significantly reduce or eliminate militancy in the Niger-Delta.
The routing of major camps would dissuade minor camps from further militant activities while discouraging those who were at the verge of joining militancy�, Ngubane stated. The Ijaw Youth Leaders Forum, which is facilitating the dialogue between the Federal Government and the militant groups, met at Oporoza to study the document paragraph by paragraph early December and it was not difficult to see the connection between the action plan on paper and the actions of the task force on ground.
Boomerang: Citing the arrest and detention of the Movement for Emancipation of Niger-Delta (MEND) activist, Henry Okah, in Angola, without any clear charge more than three months after, alleged invasion of Gbaraun, a southern Ijaw community in Bayelsa State in November 2007 by the JTF, attack on Ateke Tom and the massive N446.6 billion security budget proposal for Niger-Delta in 2008, the forum pulled out of further negotiations with the government. It was followed by the MEND and the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC).
Clark�s dilemma: Apparently unknown to the Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, who called on the youth leaders to return to the negotiating table and also blamed the problem on communication gap between the task force and the negotiating team, the whole affair was well planned before it was executed.
He told newsmen, December 17, three days after the youth leaders ordered the Presidential Committee on Peace and Conflict Resolution in the Niger-Delta, led by Senator David Brigidi to suspend its activities in the region, �For instance, one would have expected the government�s negotiating team to brief our negotiating team of any hostile development or crisis in the region and we are confident that such a situation will be peacefully addressed by the leadership of the youths.
Reasonable justification
Let it be known that all the freedom fighters (militant groups) have a common leadership stretching from Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Ondo states. It will, therefore, embarrass our negotiating team if without consultation; our people are being attacked by the military without provocation and any reasonable justification. For example, in the recent attack on Ateke Tom and his group in Okirika, they accused Ateke of sponsoring piracy and raping women between Bonny Okirika riverine routes. These cannot be sufficient reasons for the military task force in Port-Harcourt to roll out sophisticated and dangerous weapons, as if they were out to wage war on an enemy territory.
�Is there no police command in Rivers State, which is the appropriate law enforcement agency to deal with such situation? Is it not true that Ateke Tom has long ago declared truce and had since been carrying out activities that will engender peace in Okrika and Rivers State despite the pressure from his boss (name withheld) to continue with the crisis in Port Harcourt and environs? Clark, perhaps, did not know at the time that the onslaught by the JTF was part of its game plan to dislodge the militants even when the political solution to the crisis in the region (dialogue) was on and Niger-Delta leaders, including the royal fathers who the task force has accused of being members of the MEND, were not supposed to be privy to such information.
Did JTF undermine peace process?
Call it a betrayal of the peace process or not, the JTF, as a military outfit, would not, ordinarily, be blamed for suggesting that a military option be taken to tackle the militants. That is what it was set up to do and it has no other job other than waging war against perceived enemies of government. The only thing is that since the menace of militancy started in the Niger-Delta, military option has not really helped; rather it has, more often than not, exacerbated the crisis.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo chose the military option and the MEND battered the economy; it was only when Alhaji Yar�Adua came and opted for dialogue that the criminality reduced. The JTF acknowledged the importance of political solution in its brief but it was not happy that the militants were getting too powerful with the credibility the politicians were conferring on them with their frequent visits to their camps.
Ngubane said, for instance, �The political masters have to pursue dialogue with a view to persuading the militants to lay down their arms. It is envisaged that this is a viable means granted that the Niger-Delta political and traditional leaders are sincere and not just using the crisis as a means of livelihood. All promises for physical development should be based on timed programmes so that evaluation of progress can be possible. The Niger-Delta political, traditional and militant leaders would undertake to ensure peace and security as long as development efforts are on course.
Youths restiveness can be effectively curtailed if the political leadership undertakes job creation to engage the youths productively.� A militant leader who spoke to Sunday Vanguard on Wednesday said: �Why then did the JTF choose military option if it knows that the problem is physical development of the region.
Development and jobs
It should insist on government delivering its promises as promised and timeously to the people because once there is development and jobs, as it stated in its brief, militancy will fizzle out. You see, this militancy thing is a child of necessity and until the root causes of the problem are tackled, it would remain, they should stop treating the symptoms.�
Armed missile: JTF�s attack on the politicians for visiting the dens of militants in the creek would have come as a surprise to Vice president Goodluck Jonathan who is known to have visited one of the militant leaders, as well as governors Emmanuel Udughan and Timipre Sylva of Delta and Bayelsa states respectively, who were also known to have visited some of the camps.
Before the new governors took over, the waterways were unsafe and in Delta State in particular, Uduaghan set up the Delta Waterways and Security Committee, which went full swing, assisting the JTF to rescue kidnapped hostages from the camps of the militants.
The task force hailed the governor for the initiative and urged other governors in the zone to evolve similar measures to facilitate the operations of the JTF. It acknowledged that politicians have their ways with these militants and sued for dialogue and understanding on the part of all those concerned in the Niger-Delta crisis.
It was ostensibly because peace and security topped his three-point agenda that Uduaghan, few days after he returned from a meeting of President Yar�Adua with Niger-Delta governors on the tense security situation in the region, set up the Delta Waterways Security Committee and headed for the creek to discuss with the generalissimo of militants in the state on the release of the hostages, kidnapped by the Niger-Delta Freedom Fighters (NDFF) almost a month before he assumed office. The visit paid off and the hostages were released.
The Delta Waterways and Security Committee also secured the release of the two Indians kidnapped in Sapele, Delta State, by militants and handed them over to the JTF in addition to some kingpins of the group. It secured the release of a top staff of the Niger-Benue Transport Company (NBTC) in Ovwian-Aladja in Delta State, Mr. Daniel Tishene, who was abducted by ransom-demanding militants and handed him over to the JTF.
�JTF baffles us with its claim� “So you can imagine our shock when the JTF claimed in its brief that the visit to Camp Five (a militant den in Delta State) by some important politicians, especially those from the Niger-Delta, has not only legalized activities of the militants, but emboldened and empowered them financially and emotionally.
The commander mentioned the visit of the vice president to Camp Five on June 28, 2007 without security details accompanying him just because the militants said so, as well as the visits of the governors of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states. If the JTF is not having any ulterior motive, then, it should be aware that these visits by politicians have in no small way helped government in explaining their vision to the people and the militants telling them why they are fighting and how there can be peace in the region,� a militant leader told Sunday Vanguard.
Uduaghan�s creek shuttle: He continued: �Right now, the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) is taking foreigners to the creek, a feat that would not have been possible if not for the visit of the governor to the militants den to explain that the government meant well. The governor himself recently explained why he was visiting the creek and I don�t see why the JTF should be attacking politicians for helping to stop the situation from getting out of hand. Because of the bridge-building efforts of Governor Uduaghan, there is an unwritten understanding with the militants that they should not disturb the peace of the state. Some of the militants are even working for the government to ensure peace in the waterways.
So on what grounds is the JTF querying the peace moves.� A military source, however, said that the shuttles by the governors to creeks were not without financial gifts to known criminals at the expense of the law-abiding citizens of their respective states. �Are you not aware that the government is paying huge amounts of money to these militants every month as protection fee. This is illegal and the militants use this money to buy more arms?,� he added.
Militant groups and their locations: Much as the JTF is being pilloried for the leakage of its secret document, which has now endangered the Niger-Delta peace process, the task force deserves some praises for the tidy job done on the profile of militant leaders, their camps, and arms in their possession and how to dismantle them.
Owei from jail-bird to militant: In Bayelsa State, the JTF listed the five most notorious militant groups, all found in the Southern Ijaw Local Government area of the state. The one led by Commander African Owei, a jail bird with a murder charge against him is located near the Osiaperemo Creek, adjacent the Okugbene fishing camp, along the waterways in Korokorosei community.
He has other camps but his main camp remains directly opposite a short canal dug between two waterways, one coming from Yenagoa, after Oporoma, and the other, leading in opposite direction towards Korokorosei, Ikebiri and Azuzuama communities. It is believed that Owei also has another camp at Azuzuama which serves as a hideout. A weapon inventory by the JTF showed that he has three general purpose machine guns (GPMGs), at least 50 assorted rifles, especially AK 47 and pump action guns, inexhaustible supply of ammunition and dynamites, 17 speedboats which three are locally configured with gun boats, usually mounted on GPMGs.
According to the task force, �He (Owei) started out as a political thug before graduating into full time criminal militant. His motive is to become a big-time illegal oil bunkerer, as such; his intent is not the genuine Niger-Delta struggle.� He is believed to have lost a lot of his fighters and a major spiritualist in several encounters with JTF troops guarding oil facilities in the southern Ijaw area.
Foreign mercenaries sighted in Maciver�s den: Joshua Maciver is also a former jail bird like Owei. He escaped from the Port-Harcourt Prisons during the 2006 jail break and his camp, located at an abandoned fishing port around Olugbobiri area, is very difficult to access. He has more than 300 fighters and his group is armed with AK 47s and GPMGs. Recent intelligence reveals that he may have acquired rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, with foreign mercenaries sighted in his camp, training some of the boys on handling the weapons. It�s suspected that he travelled to South-Africa in 2007 where he made arrangements to acquire RPGs.
JTF�s weapons inventory indicated that he has 100 AK 47s, 15 GPMGs and seven RPGs. Military sources said he has a hostile disposition towards the JTF and �abhors direct contact with government/security officials or with political stakeholders.� He is also working his way to become a big-time illegal oil bunker, and his major targets remain the facilities of the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC). His motive of acquiring RPGs is to target military aircraft, as he is of the opinion that only an aerial operation can dislodge him.
Ben owns most organised militant group in Bayelsa: Victor Ben, one of the former trusted foot soldiers of the leader of the Niger-Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NPDVF), Alhaji Dokubo Asari, has three camps: One in Ezetu, another in Azuzuama, both in southern Ijaw, while the third is in Agge, a border community between Ekeremor and Southern Ijaw local government areas.
Although Victor only established his camps in the state from February to March 2007, he appears, according to the task force, to have the most organised group. The strength of his fighters is estimated at 200 – 300. Before now, he was operating from the Port-Harcourt axis with Dagogo Farah. He reportedly has in his camp 15 GPMGs, 120 AK 47 rifles, 15 long range BMGs, three RPGs and 20 double 150 horsepower speed boats. The JTF said, �Victor Ben�s intent in the Niger-Delta region is purely criminal, and is known to have a violent disposition. While he started out as a foot soldier in the NDPVF, Victor Ben is bent on becoming an illegal oil bunkerer, and it is suspected that he wants to overrun Owei and Maciver to become the principal militant leader in Bayelsa State. He is truly a militant with solid credentials of being afflicted with the MEND�.
Igodo knows waterways: His name is Gibson Kala but he goes with the sobriquet, Prince Igodo. His camp is located at Okigbene community in southern Ijaw and his personal residence serves as his headquarters, and the armoury of his heavy calibre weapons. He has about 50 fighters whose ages range between 17 and 21. Igodo is more of a sea pirate. He also targets facilities of oil companies. Ngubane said Igodo has 20 AK 47s, some of which appear not well serviced, six GPMGs, 10 Uzi machine guns, two boats, usually mounted with machine guns, often serving as gun boats, seven speed boats, and double 175 engines. His words, �Igodo�s intent appears more of coercing oil companies to offer him security contact job. He has already been declared wanted by the police and, as such, he is conscious of security forces, and abhors engagement with them.�
Commander Jackson attacks vice president�s home: Commander Jackson, also known as Young Shall Grow, has his camp at the Azuzuama areas of the southern Ijaw and is loyal to a militant leader in Delta State. He is said to be an upstart in militancy and can boast of about 40 fighters and his group is well armed with AK 47s. �The Young Shall Grow has a violent disposition. He participated in the abduction of expatriates from Conoil facility in Sangana, Brass local government area in early May, 2007. He was also the militant that led the attack on vice president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan�s country home in Otueke, Ogbia local government area, and was the one who coordinated the attack on Yenagoa,� the JTF boss stated.
JTF�s rating of Bayelsa militants: In terms of their activities, the JTF rates Joshua Maciver as the most deadly of the five militant groups in Bayelsa followed by Africa Owei. The task force believes that Victor Ben is likely to overtake the others because of his current supplies. The fourth in its ranking is Commander Jackson and Prince Igodo brings up the rear. �Only recently�, Ngubane stated in his brief to the CDS, �Africa Owei and Joshua Maciver took supplies of ammunition, while Victor Ben took delivery of 17 new boats with new engines.�
Ekpemupolo, the godfather: In Delta State, the JTF said the three major militant dens, Camp Five, Okerenkoko and Oporoza are led by Government Ekpemupolo. It identified the two minor militant camps in the state as Ubefan and Berger. Besides the GPMGs, AK 47s, BMGs, RPGs, speed boats, locally configured to bear some GPMG/BMG, the JTF said it confirmed that Camp Five had an anti-aircraft gadget. Sunday Vanguard has it on good authority that Ekpemupolo�s influence covers the whole of Niger-Delta region. He is feared and respected by militants in the region and, on his release from detention, the former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, visited him in his den to thank him for the battles put up by militants under his command to ensure his freedom.
Actually, Ekpemupolo is the militant leader that was the arrowhead of the Federal Government�s peace process with militants in the region. He is the one that Jonathan visited in the creek and is, arguably, the only militant leader that can summon the entire militants in the region to a meeting in his domain. Dokubo-Asari acknowledges him as a worthy leader of the struggle and had paid several visits to him since he was freed.
Much of the in-roads the Senator Brigidi-led Presidential Committee had made in the region since it was inaugurated was not without the support of this militant leader who, under the auspices of the Ijaw Youth Leaders Forum, rallied Ijaw youth leaders from Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Ondo and other Niger-Delta states together to find a common ground with government on the vexed issue of the Niger-Delta struggle. The vice president found him very useful in the peace process but what is not clear is whether he supported the JTF military�s option as against the political option, given that he was the chief mediator for government.
Source: The Vanguard