As tension continues to build over the removal of subsidy on fuel by the Federal Government, some ex-militants in the Niger Delta have threatened to regroup if there is excessive use of force on protesters.
The group also urged the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, commence the arrest and trial of all those listed by the senate as having been beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy or prepare for a full-blown battle.
The Niger Delta Revolution Force, one of the prominent groups in the region, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to direct the security forces to stop the killing and maiming of demonstrators all over the country or face reprisal.
According to the leader of the group, Babatunde Omatseye, who spoke in Sapele on Wednesday, the ex-militants would no longer fold their arms and watch innocent Nigerians being felled by bullets bought with taxpayers’ money.
He said, “We want to advice the law enforcement agencies to shun the use of force, capable of maiming or killing unarmed members of the civil society who were protesting across the nation.
“If the harassment of protesters over the recent removal of fuel subsidy and its concomitant hike in transportation fares do not stop, then the Federal Government risks a reprisal attack from this group.”
He vowed that that the ex-militants would reorganise to launch attacks on oil facilities across the Niger Delta as well as go after those who unjustly benefited from fuel subsidy, should government fail to direct the relevant law enforcement agencies to prosecute them.
Omatseye said the group, comprising over 1,400 former combatants, would no longer fold its hands and watch the nation being plunged into “irrecoverable abysmal economic quagmire,” and called on the Federal Government to restore to status-quo, the price of fuel across the nation.
“We are considering the possibility of regrouping for an onslaught on oil facilities across the Niger Delta should President Jonathan fail to prosecute the beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy and revert the present hike in price of fuel to N65 per litre’’ the ex-militant said.
He asserted that the removal of subsidy by the Federal Government had no positive impact on the lives of the people of the Niger Delta, saying it would only add to their suffering.
Punch Newspaper