T.Y. Danjuma Wants Dokubo-Asari, Tompolo, Others Arrested

A former Minister of Defence, Theophilus Danjuma, has demanded the
immediate arrest of some former Niger Delta militants for threatening
to plunge the country into war if President Goodluck Jonathan is not
re-elected in the February 14 election.
He stated this on Wednesday in Kano during the commissioning of the
multibillion naira Kwakwasiya city, one of the three mega cities built
by the administration of Governor Rabi'u Kwankwaso.
The leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, NDPVF, Mujahid
Dokubo-Asari; Victor Ben Ebikabowei, aka, Boy Loaf; Government
Ekpudomenowei, aka, Tompolo; and other militants had last Saturday
vowed to ensure that President Goodluck Jonathan, wins the February
presidential election.
The former militant leaders and their followers, who spoke at a
meeting in Government House, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, threatened to
unleash violence on the country and take back Niger Delta oil should
the president lose the election.
They also said any attempt to dethrone Mr. Jonathan would be seen as a
direct attack on the Ijaw nation.
Neither the Federal Government nor the president, who is also Ijaw as
the militant leaders, has so far reacted to the threat.
Describing the statements as "reckless," Mr. Danjuma, a retired army
general and former Chief of Army Staff, who fought in the Nigerian
civil war, said the threats by the militants were not only against
national unity but also capable of plunging the country into war.
He asked the security agencies and the government to immediately arrest them.
"You should arrest Asari Dokubo, Tompolo, Boylop and other Niger Delta
militants for making reckless statements, which in any way does not
mean keeping Nigeria as one entity and creating war situation," he
said.
The Nigeria Police Force and the State Security Service had recently
threatened that they would move against anyone who makes inciting
statements in the run up to the February elections.
But since the militants' comments were reported on January 24, both
security agencies are not known to have taken action.
Addressing the Yenagoa meeting, Mr. Dokubo-Asari deplored the alleged
intimidation being meted to the people of Ijaw stock in Nigeria,
saying the people cannot take it any longer.
He told his colleagues, "For every Goliath, God created a David. For
every Pharoah, there is a Moses. "We are going to war. Everyone of you
should go and fortify yourself."
Mr. Dokubo-Asari, who condemned the attack on Jonathan in the north in
the ongoing presidential campaigns, maintained that the survival of
the Ijaw nation rests in the hands of the militants gathered at the
meeting.
On his part, Boyloaf condemned the attack on President Jonathan in the
north, saying nobody has the monopoly of violence.
He said there is nothing like one Nigeria, pointing out that oil is
the only thing binding Nigeria's diverse nationalities together.
While maintaining that President Jonathan would win the election, he
however said if the north takes the power away from Mr. Jonathan, the
people of the Niger Delta region would take their oil back.
He stressed the need for oneness of purpose among the people, urging
them to keep their grudges aside and face the present challenges
facing the Ijaw nation with solidarity.
"Keep grudges and sentiments apart. We are ready to match them bumper
to bumper," Boyloaf said.