The Mayor of Urhoboland and notable leader of ex-agitators, Eshanakpe Israel a.k.a Akpodoro has warned a group, the Indegineous People of Biafra, IPOB to steer clear of oil facilities in the Niger Delta region saying, the region does not fall under the South East region of the “blood thirsty” insurgents.
Akpodoro stated this in his country home at Ughelli, Delta State over the weekend sequel to a reported threat of attacks by the Simon Ekpa led group.
Akpodoro said no group or organisation has the monopoly of attacks, noting that Ekpa should restrict his killings and attacks to where he belongs using his ‘dumb followers’ to destroy Igbo land.
Ekpa, he noted, is a fugitive who lacks the interest of his people at heart, stressing that the Niger Delta region does not pander to such barefooted threats as he warned of dire consequence should there be any attack linked to his group in the region.
He said Ekpa the Finese based truculent character should come back home to see what he has turned his region to – “a place of the skull.”
The Gbaregolor Ughelli South born Delta State-born Mayor said it takes a coward like Ekpa to stay abroad and be issuing threats to where he called his homeland stressing that no single IPOB insurgent will survive such criminality if allowed to be carried out.
He maintained that Ekpa and his cohorts will learn what he described as a new lesson should they extend their banditry to Urhobo land in particular and the Niger Delta region at large.
According to the vociferous Mayor, “the so-called IPOB is biting more than it can chew, and the earlier the Nigerian security forces put a final stop to the menacing group, the better for the nation.”
“Members of the outlawed IPOB, he noted, are not the only ethnic group in Nigeria, adding that there are so many ethnic nationalities in the country wondering why the “IPOB miscreants won’t allow for peace in a sovereign state such as Nigeria.
“The government for too long has allowed the blood letting group to fester for too long by handling them with kidgloves and letting them disturb our national peace.
“I believe the FG can do better than it is doing at the moment. No group has the power to stampede a nation of over 200 million people and the world’s most populous black nation on earth.
“Who is Ekpa that can not be reigned in and dealt with decisively by the Nigerian government?,” the Mayor queried as he called on the National Securirty adviser to the President ,Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to cause secuirty agencies to flush out criminal elements from the country’s socio-political space including the South-East geopolitical zone.
He stressed that, “should any attack on oil facilities in the Delta be linked to IPOB insurgents, there would be equal and opposite reactions from Niger Deltans.
Pointedly, Mayor Akpodoro stated that should Ekpa and his confederates blow up any pipeline anywhere around Urhoboland, “we shall also attack the business interests and locations of their people in our land.
“Such criminal actions as threatened by Ekpa will attract immeasurable consequences. I call on the youths of my region to remain calm and vigilant as we watch Ekpa carry out his bare-footed threats.
“In this context, everyone should take the gaunlet of soldiering. Also, my call goes to Tantita Security Services, TSSNL, to be on the watch for miscreats who may wish to attempt any negative action on our national wealth.
“We will teach Ekpa and his men a lesson they will never forget. It takes nothing to be stupid, but the fact that we choose patriotism over anarchy shouldn’t make criminal elements issue threats against our nation and her wealth.
“Our national economy is fragile at the moment and whoever threatens it further is a common enemy. Our security agencies should roll out their arsenals against all misguided terrorists across the country. The Renewed Hope is our national agenda and that we shall defend with our last blood.”
