Fish out, prosecute militants, 

Ateke Tom tells FG

May 17, 2016

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Chukwudi Akasike and Ovie Okpare

 former Niger Delta militant leader, Ateke Tom, has called on the Federal Government to fish out the members of the Niger Delta Avengers and prosecute them if they refuse to lay down their arms.

Ateke Tom, who is an ex-leader of the defunct Niger Delta Vigilante, decried the attack on oil installations by the militant group, adding that the NDA was causing more harm to the people of the region than good.

He pointed out that the destruction of oil installations and government property in the oil- rich region was exposing everybody to hardship.

In a statement on Monday by his media aide, Mr. Ifeanyi Ogbonna, the former Niger Delta militant explained that to agitate peacefully was better than destroying oil installations.

Tom urged the Federal Government to be diplomatic in handling the issue of militancy in order to protect innocent people.

The statement read, “Ateke Tom condemns in totality the activities of the faceless and masked group called the Niger Delta Avengers. The group is causing more harm to the people of the region than good.

“Security agencies should fish out the criminals and prosecute them in line with the law if they refuse to lay down their arms and unmask themselves. The government should embrace dialogue with repentant agitators and make them state the reasons for their actions.

“Government should also use diplomacy in handling the issues of the Niger Delta so that it will not affect the innocent. By bombing and destroying our oil installations and government property situated in the region, they (bombers) are only exposing children and unborn children to serious hardship in the near future.”