Spokesperson of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Jomo Gbomo has said that contrary to the much held view that most of the dead in the crack down on cultists and militants in Port Harcourt, Rivers State were cultists, the death toll was more of innocent civilian casualties.
It therefore dismissed the claim by the Joint Task Force that it had an upper hand against the cultists as it maintained the deaths resulted in the reckless shooting by the soldiers who did not care about the safety of people.Jomo who responded to questions from THISDAY also condemned the firing of a rocket at a hotel he said the military had suspected that Soboma George was and killing everybody inside without minding that it was a public place.
�What you have is the military�s version of events. Most of the dead are civilians who died as a result of reckless shooting by the military. As you know, the Nigerian military is poorly trained and highly indisciplined. That accounts for the alarming number of civilian casualties.
�The army fired rockets into a hotel where Soboma was suspected to be hiding, disregarding the safety of other guests. Soboma is alive and well and will speak whenever he chooses to�, he said.
He however clarified that fighters of MEND did not take part in the fight in Port Harcourt and so may not be very detailed in information regarding what actually led to the problem which has caused the imposition of curfew in the State.
The crackdown by the military which sources said has made the cult leaders to plead for understanding and negotiation from their hidings has however not elicited any positive response from the agencies.
It was gathered that some of the cult leaders have through their contacts in influential positions asked if there could be an understanding, adding that they were now ready for a true truce and reign of peace in the city.
It however appears that the state government and the security agencies are insisting that the party was over for all the cultists and militants with Governor Celestine Omehia saying that the stick side of the bargain was now a permanent solution.
Omehia had in a chat with news men insisted that he would not compromise the peace of the state and has therefore decided to deal with the malaise once and for all, promising further that soldiers will stay in the streets of Port Harcourt for the next six months.
He had after announcing the curfew for one week later clarified that it would stay for 10 days in the interim before he decides on whether to extend it or not. The action which has seen combined team of soldiers, army, Navy and Air force cracking down on the cultists who had breached the peace of the State for almost two weeks patrolling with Hilux vans mounted with General Purpose Machine Guns round all the streets of the city.
The action has however brought life back to almost a state of normalcy in Port Harcourt and its environs as the trouble makers have allegedly fled into the creeks and other states in and outside Niger Delta.
Meanwhile, an amalgam of civil society groups, �The Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NDCSC)� has blamed former Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili for the carnage and said the only solution was to remove the government in the state and set up a new one through popular elections. Conducting another election which will be free and fair, they said, would produce people�s choice rather than those who ascended through intimidation.
In the alternative, they are asking that courts and tribunals where political cases concerning Rivers State were pending should be given free hand to dispose of them in the interest of justice.The coalition’s position which was contained in a statement titled �Until Odili�s tyranny of antiquity is removed, no viable solution will ensue in Rivers State� was signed by the its Chairman , Dr. Anyankwee Nsirimovu.
Aug202007