Fresh tension has gripped communities in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State as the operatives of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta combed the area in search of their missing rifles.
Findings by our correspondent on Sunday showed that the rifles were allegedly taken away by some militants during their clash with some JTF personnel last Wednesday.
A JTF source said, �Our Commander, Brig.-Gen. Wuyep Rimtip, is visibly disturbed by the report of the missing arms and he has directed the troops to comb the entire riverside communities and creeks of the state to fish out the so called militants to recover the weapons and bring them to justice.
�The commander has ordered the soldiers to remain in the area until the hoodlums are found.�
Another source told our correspondent that the presence of the soldiers in the communities had led to tension and anxiety among the indigenes.
It was gathered that the development informed the involvement of some notable Ijaw personalities in the effort to recover the arms and restore normalcy to the communities.
The Public Relations Officer of the JTF, Major Omale Ochagwuba, in a statement on Friday, said the troops were deployed in the riverside communities to clear them of further threats.
Ochagwuba, who did not make any reference to the report of the stolen arms, said the search was initiated after the attack on an oil facility belonging to Chevron Nigeria Limited.
�The mop-up operation is already yielding results as one of the militants who took part in the attack was arrested and he�s helping our investigation,� he added.
It was, however, gathered on Sunday evening that the Delta State Waterways Security Committee had recovered some of the weapons.
The weapons, according to the committee, had been handed over to the JTF.
Meanwhile, the Delta State House of Assembly will on Tuesday determine the fate of the suspended Deputy Speaker, Mr. Funkekeme Solomon, and the Majority Leader, Mr. Efe Afe.
The Assembly is expecetd to consider the report of an ad-hoc committee which found them guilty of unparliamentary conducts.
The panel recommended that they should cease to serve as principal officers of the Assembly.