August 27, (THEWILL) – The President of Ijaw National Congress (INC) Worldwide, Prof. Benjamin Ogele Okaba, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Acting Inspector General of Police, to withdraw the men of the Strategic Weapons and Tactical (SWAT) team from Nembe Bassambiri in Nembe local government area of Bayelsa state.
Prof. Okaba said Nembe Bassambiri is under siege and it is a desecration of Ijaw land by the agent of the federal government in the name of arresting and mopping up illegal weapons in the community.
According to him, the SWAT has taken permanent abode in Nembe even when the security operatives claimed that the operation was successful, Saying the people are worried, while some have vowed not to return to the community.
“What we have in Nembe is fear, apprehension, uncertainty and if an urgent step is not taken to address it, might escalate to other neighbouring Communities.”
The INC’s number one man, while addressing journalists at the Ijaw House on Saturday, in Yenagoa, said the policemen in Nembe outnumbered the people of the community, saying the operation was far from being discreet as firearms were being used Indiscriminately.
He said the continued staying of SWAT in Nembe is not in the best interest of the people. “The IGP should withdraw them to allow normalcy return for the people to go about their normal business.
“If the SWAT teams have come to mop up arms, how many have they mopped up, and how many offenders have been arrested? Their continued stay in the community is worrisome. Would they remain in the community before, during and after the election? The federal government should withdraw them now for peace to reign.
“As INC, we endorse the outcome of the expanded security council meeting that was held in Yenagoa”, he said.
Speaking further, he said the November 11 governorship election in the state should be about capacity to deliver.
“All the leading aspirants have their antecedents and their track record will speak for them. Ijaw nation is too mature to allow results to be written from nowhere. This crisis must stop.
“Ijaw man should desist from the politics of bitterness. We have not come to blame anybody because they are all our children. We call on the people to allow peace to return. Already, families are separated, children are out of school, and many have been displaced and the economy is completely down as a result of the crisis. We need to let peace reign.
“From discovery, it has become a trend since the 2015 election, that people will chase away perceived opponents from the community. The people should remember that before the election they were one family and after the election, they will still remain one family, Politics is not a do-or-die affair”. We have spilled too much blood in Ijaw Nation and we want to put a stop to it forthwith.”
It would be recalled that the Men of the police Strategic Weapons and Tactical (SWAT) team and some non-state actors in military camouflage on August 12, invaded Bassambiri community on the orders of the Acting Inspector General of Police and the team still occupied the community.
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