The Leader of the Niger Delta Vigilance Group, Ateke Tom, on Wednesday warned that militants in the region would resort to violence unless the detained leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Mujaheed Asari Dokubo, was freed.
Ateke issued the threat shortly after a meeting between his loyalists and those of the Dokubo-led Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Front in his hideout.
In an exclusive interview with our correspondent, Ateke said that the government had no basis for detaining Dokubo, having failed to prove that he actually wanted to topple the Obasanjo administration.
Ateke said that the acrimony between him and Dokubo had been resolved and that they were working together to promote the interest of the Niger Delta.
He alleged that those behind Dokubos detention merely wanted to cause a setback to the Niger Delta struggle and allow the enemies of the region to continue to exploit the people.
Ateke said, Tell the government to release my brother and friend, otherwise we will cause more trouble. We know very well that what they are doing is to weaken our struggle so that they can continue to oppress our people. But by the grace of God, they will not succeed.�
The NDVG leader also said that the militants were more interested in the emergence of a South-South man of Ijaw extraction as the next president of Nigerian but not any of the present governors of the six states in the Niger Delta.
Ateke said he was not interested in who became the next governor of the Rivers State and would not support any person as he did in the past.
Dokubo was arrested and detained last year for allegedly trying to topple the present administration.
However, the government is yet to commence his trial and has also refused to grant him bail, insisting that he was a security risk.
His detention without trial has angered his supporters who have threatened to take more hostages and make the Niger Delta uncomfortable for oil-producing firms.
As a result, no fewer than 20 foreign oil workers have so far been kidnapped in the region between January and August this year, forcing some oil firms to shut down or scale down operations.
Source: The Punch