Former Niger Delta militant leader, Ateke Tom, on Monday described the resurgent militant group, Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, as desperate criminals whose activities will only bring about untold hardship in the region.
The Okirika High Chief, while speaking in Port Harcourt, Rivers State called on youths in the region not to support the group.
The former War Lord expressed his readiness to assist the Federal government to negotiate with the Avengers if the group is ready for peace.
Ateke said, “As one of the peace ambassadors in this region, I want to state it clear that any responsible Niger Delta youths would not support the criminal act being perpetrated by the so-called Niger Delta Avengers. I condemned in totality the activities of this frustrated, faceless and desperate masked group called the Avengers.
“I am also pleading with the ex-war lords not to use the issue of the avengers to hit up the polity by causing trouble in the region, either by name calling or by insulting our elders and chiefs. Bombing and destroying our oil installations and government properties in the region is only exposing children and women to another hardship.
“I want to call on the elders and chiefs in this region to talk to their children; there is no gain in violence and trouble making. We must see ourselves as one and learn how to support the government at the centre whether we are in support of it or not. In my state I have since started sensitization campaign against kidnapping and vandalism.”
He appealed to security agencies to fish out the criminals and prosecute them if they fail to lay down their arms.
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