Embattled Okrika-based militant leader, Ateke Tom, on Wednesday denied claims by military authorities that he was shot and wounded in a gun battle during a raid by the Joint Task Force in his hideout.
The JTF had on Tuesday declared Ateke wanted, saying that he was responsible for a series of murders, kidnapping and armed robberies in the state.
The JTF also placed a N5m reward on the head of Ateke, saying that it wanted to get at him at all cost.
But in a telephone interview, Ateke said he was neither shot nor wounded by the JTF.
He said, �I have heard all their claims on the radio but not one of their bullets touched my body and I am hale and hearty as I am speaking with you.�
Although he admitted relocating from his former hideout as a result of the raid, Ateke maintained that he would return to his base at the appropriate time.
�They cannot do anything to me because I am not as ordinary as they think,� he boasted.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Niger Delta United Front, one of the militant groups involved in the Niger Delta struggle, Mr. Richie Richards, has warned that the group would use force to claim whatever belonged to the youths of the region because of the failure of the government to meet their needs.
Richards, who called our correspondent from his base outside Nigeria on Wednesday, said the NDUD was mobilising support for the actualisation of the struggle of the Niger Delta agenda.
Top on the agenda of the NDUD is the immediate release of the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Asari Dokubo, and the stoppage of all forms of military actions against Ateke.
Richards warned, �If the government continues to hold on to our brother and leader, Dokubo, we are going to use fire for fire and take anything that we feel belongs to us.
�We are not going to fold our hands and watch the very people who bought arms for the Niger Delta youths to fight and win election for them, turning round to destroy us and the region.
�This government is not telling Nigerians the truth about the election which we fought and won for them. Ateke Tom in particular was responsible for the electoral victory of most politicians in Rivers State and the very people are now looking for his head.�