The Ijaw ethnic group has condemned the incessant invasion and arrest of its prominent leaders by the Nigerian Army, News About Nigeria reports.
An Ijaw leader, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, and the Ijaw Youths Council made their displeasure known on Wednesday, saying that things were spiralling out of control. They cited how the Army invaded the home of a former governorship candidate of the National Rescue Movement, NRM, in Rivers State, Sobomoba Jackrich, popularly known as Egberipapa.
Recall that Egberipapa had been taken away and two of his aides killed in the early hours of Monday when the Army stormed his Usukon country home in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Calling for his immediate release, Chief Sara-Igbe, a former spokesperson of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), said that Intel was gotten that he was with a security agency, though the identity of the security agency is unknown.
He added that if the leader has committed any crime, he should be handed over for prosecution, or otherwise released.
“We have not got any details but the police confirmed that he is with one of the security agencies. We do not know which security agency they referred to.
“We do not want to assume anything. The police stated that a security agency had arrested him. We do not know which security agency. We do not also know what crime he committed. If he committed any crime, hand him over for prosecution or release him,” he stated.
He also maintained that if anything happens to Egberipapa, the police will be held accountable.
Similarly, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) said that the Ijaw will not play second fiddle in the country because they have sacrificed a lot towards the growth and development of the country and need not be treated as a conquered people.
The spokesperson of IYC, Binebai Yerin Princewill, condemned the act, stating that things must be done within the confines of the law.
”In the last few months, Ijaw lands and her prominent leaders have been invaded, harassed, arrested, and embarrassed for whatever strange reasons by the military that the Ijaw people are yet to know,” he lamented.
