They 're sea pirates —JTF's spokesman
By Emma Amaize
WARRI- HUMAN rights activists in Delta State, have called on the Chief of Army Staff, to probe an alleged extra-judicial murder, last month, of six indigenes of Niger Delta region by operatives of Joint Task Force, JTF, codenamed Operation Pulo Shield, under the pretext that they were sea pirates.
But, media coordinator of JTF, Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, has denied the allegation, saying those killed by the task force were sea pirates, who had been terrorizing the riverside communities.
The activists, Omems Ogedegbe and Ozobo Austin, who addressed newsmen in Warri, Delta State, said they had dispatched a letter to the Chief of Army Staff "to commence investigation with a view to court marshaling all the officers and soldiers involved in the extra-judicial murder of the suspects," adding, "If within seven days, the process was not commenced, we will have no other option than to go to court."
Ogedegbe said information at his disposal showed that the six persons, who were alleged to have been killed in a gun battle with JTF never had any gun duel with the task force, but were arrested by soldiers, who accused them of being sea pirates, only to eliminate them later.
Ozobo, National President of Ijaw People Development Initiative, IPDI, added that the deceased were returning from a burial ceremony, when they were accosted and arrested on the waterways by soldiers, who took them to Agge community, but later shot them dead after telling villagers that they were taking them to Warri.
Lt. Col. Nwachukwu, however, denied the allegation, saying, they opened fire on soldiers, who killed six in an ensuring gun battle, while one escaped.
Ozobo showed Vanguard a photograph of the deceased persons allegedly snapped by villagers before they were whisked away by soldiers, but Nwachukwu, who was emailed the photograph by Vanguard, said, "The picture seems to depict a parade of six suspects and not seven."
Vanguard Nigeria