What Kokori leaders told Uduaghan
about Kelvin, kidnap kingpin
on october 07, 2013 at 3:52 am in interview
By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South
SECRET meeting over Kelvin: Few months before Kelvin
Oniarah, the kidnap kingpin that terrorized Delta State and
other states in the South-South and South-East regions was
rounded up, September 25, by a joint team of Department of
State Services, DSS and Nigerian Army, Governor Emmanuel
Uduaghan, who had been providing logistics for the manhunt
for kidnappers in the state, summoned the leaders of Kokori
community, the country home of the gangster, to a meeting in
Warri.
The closed-door meeting was necessitated by intelligence
information that Kokori people were shielding the notorious
criminal from arrest by security agents. Motorcyclists
purportedly on his payroll usually gave him information
regarding enquiries about him and movement of security
agents, while the residents maintained they knew nothing
about him.
Gov Uduaghan…vows to stem the tide
There was no official statement at the end of the meeting, but
was manifest was that there was no information on Kelvin, and
the State Security Council authorized the police to destroy the
homes and kidnap cells of the criminal and his accomplices in
Kokori, which was carried out in April. No community leader
said anything publicly about the gathering.
Few days after Kelvin was arrested, Governor Uduaghan,
apparently bitter about the support given Kelvin by women
who gathered at a primary school in Kokori, where he
infamously gave government a 60-day ultimatum, September
17, lashed out at the women and community leaders for their
sense of judgment.
What Uduaghan asked Kokori people: President-general of the
community, Mr. G.S Avbunudiogba, spoke to Vanguard on
phone, Thursday, on what really transpired between the
governor and leaders of Kokori. He also explained how the
villagers arrested Kelvin in the past and handed him over to
the police and why his unceremonious release deterred them
from doing anything furthermore about Kelvin for fear of being
killed.
On the meeting of Governor Uduaghan and Kokori leaders,
Avbunudiogba said, “When the governor invited some people
to Warri, he was asking them about Kelvin, they told him they
had been hearing of him, but they do not know him and that is
the truth. Even I who is speaking to you now, I have been
hearing of Kelvin but I do not know him. He (governor) told
them that they have to arrest and bring him, but if it was
possible, they would have arrest himed, but Kelvin does not
stay in Kokori.
Kingpin once arrested and handed over to police: “On my own,
I wondered how they want the people to arrest the man that
was doing all the things that I read in the newspapers and hear
on television without arms. Anyway, I was told that there was
a time the community apprehended Kelvin and handed him
over to the police at Isiokolo Police Station. He was taken to
headquarters of the Police Command in Asaba, but he was
released few days after.
“The people also saw a strange car parked somewhere in the
community and reported to the police, few hours later, the
vehicle was released. They told the governor all these in the
presence of the Commissioner of Police, and with these kind of
things, nobody was ready to stick out his neck.”
A lawyer told Vanguard that the offence, which Kelvin was
arrested at a time was not strong enough to reign him in, as
the charge against him was watery, adding, “He, however,
grew from a small criminal to the status he was before he was
recently arrested.”
Not everybody knows him
Told that the release of Kelvin at a time by security agents
after he was arrested was not enough reason for the
community leaders to give the governor, who is the chief
security officer of the state, useful information when he
summoned them, the president general said, “The truth is that
it is not everybody that knows Kelvin. He does not stay here,
he comes in at night and leaves the next morning. In most
cases when you hear he came, before you would get there, he
is gone.
“He comes in and moves out; nobody knows who he is as such
even though they hear about him on television. Nobody can
say that he has the number of Kelvin, so it was not easy for us
to arrest him. Regarding the press conference, nobody knew
Kelvin was going to address the press on that day or issue any
ultimatum. As the president general of the community, I read
it in the newspapers just like any other Nigerian.
“You will not because one man from Kokori is an armed robber
and kidnapper, say that all Kokori people are criminals or that
we are supporting criminals, this is not true. It is a farce, there
was no Kokori leader there on that day except children and
some mothers, who were hungry.
Kokori people never supported Kelvin, he never attended any
of our meetings, most of us do not know him. He is always in
hiding, he comes in the night like I told your earlier and the
following day, he is out. I doubt if he has a home here in
Kokori where he sleeps.”
He’s not small fly to catch: “If it was easy to arrest him, why
did all the mobile policemen that were drafted here in search
of him before now not apprehend him. We have produced
eminent citizens of this country, the former Justice Minister,
the late Justice Ayo Irikefe was from here, we have other
distinguished Nigerians from Kokori, we should not be lumped
together with Kelvin as criminals, whereas, we are not,” he
argued.
Our ordeal
On the on-going “internal operation” by the military in Kokori,
he said, “We are not against it, but a situation where the
security agents beat up innocent persons is ungodly. They
barge into people’s houses, saying they were looking for Kelvin
even when the news is everywhere the Kelvin had been
arrested. Yes, in most cases, they break into people’s houses
and when they meet you, they ask you, where is Kelvin. Up till
now, they are still beating people and asking where is Kelvin,
that is the situation.”
He also disclosed that schools and the only health centre in
the town had been deserted by teachers, students, workers
because of the siege by soldiers, while residents have fled to
exile. A 98-year-old man, Pa Isiokolo, who corroborated his
claim, said, “Youths are either flogged or beaten up by
soldiers.” He also said hunger had hit the people as there was
shortage of food supply because “there is nobody to buy and
sell.”
Soldiers after criminals: A military officer, who spoke to
Vanguard at Kokori, said, “It is not true that soldiers are
beating up innocent people, we are only after criminals, if you
are innocent, all you to do is to identify yourself, we are
looking for criminals among them. You were here the other
day when they mounted barricades to prevent us from doing
our work in the community. They placed sacrifices at various
junctions to scare us away, but we are not here for joke, we
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/what-kokori-leaders-told-uduaghan-about-kelvin-kidnap-kingpin/ are trained soldiers and are here for real business.”

So only Kashim Shetima should face Boko haram in Borno state?...Its not done like that, they are facing it already but still need the support of FG

That's right.... Because they are the chief security officer of their respective state