Ade Adesomoju, Abuja
The Nigerian Army said on Tuesday that
dialogue with the militant group, Niger Delta
Avengers, whose operations in the oil rich
region have cut down daily oil production
output, was not yet an option. The Army, justifying its recent operations in
Gbaramatu, Delta State, said the use of force
was for now the only available option until
leaders of the militant group were
apprehended.
Representing the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, Brig.-Gen. J. Hamakim, said this at
the ‘State of the Nation Conference’,
organised by the Nigerian Bar Association and
held in Abuja on Tuesday.
During the conference on Tuesday, the Army
was accused of failing to explore dialogue with the Niger Delta militants and resorting to use of
force which could lead to a war situation in the
region.
The Army was also accused of attacking
members of the Indigenous People of Biafra,
who were allegedly demonstrating peacefully in Onitsha, Anambra State on Monday.
But Hamakim, in his response, said there was
no sign that the Niger Delta Avengers’
members were ready for dialogue.
He said, “I quite agree that dialogue is very
important. But where it is not too obvious that the adversary is ready to come out and talk,
you can also force such a person.
“I think that is what the Nigeria Army is trying
to do. Yes, we don’t know the group’s
leader, for now; that is the only option, possibly
we have to bring the people out to know who you can dialogue with.”
He said the activities of the group were
affecting Nigerians as the nation’s oil
production had recently further plummeted to
1.1 million barrels per day.
He debunked the allegation that soldiers, who were involved in the operations in Gbaramatu,
were killing innocent residents and raped
women.
“We have done our investigation and nothing
like that is happening,” he said.
He also said the demonstrations by IPOB, leading to a clash between the protesters and
security forces which left two policemen and 30
others dead in Onitsha, Anambra State on
Monday, were not peaceful.
Hamakim said, “Remember that lives were
lost, policemen were killed, some were thrown overboard and the military has rules of
engagement.
“The question is how peaceful is the peaceful
demonstration. How peaceful was the
demonstration at that time? If it was that
peaceful, how come we lost security agencies. “The rule of engagement is that if you feel
threatened, you have the mandate to respond.
What we can say is that was not at all a
demonstration that you can say was
peaceful.”
Various heads of anti-corruption and security agencies, including the Inspector-General of
Police, Mr. Solomon Arase; Controller-General of
Prisons, Ahmed Ja’afaru; and Director-General
of the Department of State Service, Lawal Daura;
were represented by officers of their agencies
at the event. NBA President, Mr. Augustine Alegeh; the Chief
Judge of Kogi State, Nasiru Ajanah; Chairman,
House of Representatives’ Committee on Anti-
Corruption, Mr. Babajide Akinloye, two
contenders for the office of the NBA presidency,
Messrs Abubakar Mahmud and Joe Kyari- Gadzama, among many other Senior Advocates
of Nigeria were at the event.
A member of the House of Representative, Linda
Ikpeazu, represented the Speaker, Yakubu
Dogara, as the Chairman of the event.