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Saturday, October 12, 2013

DELTA STATE: Kelvin’s Gang React?

Kokori: Kelvin’s gang talks tough:
Members of the Liberation Movement of Urhobo (LiMUP) have warned that the arrest of their leader and alleged kidnap kingpin, Kelvin Ibruvwe (aka Oniarah), may unleash deadlier violence in the area. Speaking with our reporter on Kokori on Thursday, the new leader of the group, simply identified as Don Jazzy, gave the clearest hint yet that one of the men arrested by Department of Security Services (DSS) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, is Kelvin Ibruvwe. Don Jazzy, who wielded an assault rifle like scores of other young members of the group, said, “If one Kelvin is removed another Kelvin will replace him”. “Government is of the opinion that if they take the leader out, his followers will be demoralised and be dispersed, but that is a dangerous road to take because these followers will become more desperate and engage in heinous criminality without any restraining influence which the leader provides. “We are still willing to carry on the legacy; even a little child from this community today when he grows up and this level of injustice persists, will end up agitating for a better life.” He accused the government of playing politics with the agitation of the Kokori people in view of the enviable position of their counterparts from the other ethnic group. “The truth of the matter is that the government knows what to do and we have already told them before. Kelvin told them that we have one thousand ‘Kelvins’, this is not a joke.” According to him, the struggle for the emancipation of Urhobo land will continue despite the setback suffered following the arrest of their leader. Don Jazzy urged the Federal Government to release Kelvin Ibruvwe and issue a presidential pardon for all the militants, including the immediate commencement of the development of Urhobo people. His words: ”All the people that have been arrested must be released. Massive infrastructural projects should commence in Kokori and other Urhobo land .Our youths are armed but we are not happy that we are carrying arms to fight the government but we are pushed to the wall. For the youths to put down their weapons and for us to clear our names, there has to be a presidential pardon.” He condemned the deafening silence of the apex Urhobo socio-cultural organisation Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU) in the impasse, urging the group to stand up and fight for the rights of the Urhobo people. His words: “Our leaders should stand up and fight for our rights. If our leaders stand up to government insisting that the right things must be done, government will have no choice but to listen to us. If our leaders do not listen to the youths and become collaborators, we will deal with them in due course. They are the ones who sponsor the media against us calling us names because they have money to take care of their children and send them abroad to school.” Meanwhile, hundreds of elderly women in Kokori community on Friday continued indefinite protest to force troops of the Joint Task Force, ‘Operation Pulo Shield’, from the community. The troops from the 222 Battalion of the Nigerian Army were deployed in the community in the wake of the arrest of alleged notorious armed robbery and kidnap kingpin, Kelvin Oniarah. On Thursday and Friday, they carried freshly cut twigs, marched through the main (Market) Road in the town singing songs denouncing the activities of some personalities in the community. They vowed that the protest would continue until Kelvin, the Egba priests and all youths arrested in the community are released. Their leader (Otota Eya), Mrs. Omotejowho, who was dressed in the all-white traditional attire of the Egba cult, spoke in pidgin English saying: “Our juju priest and children arrested by soldiers must be released by government. They should be given jobs, not arrested. “Kokori has one of the best blends of crude oil in the country, yet we have nothing to show for it. Go round yourself, you will find there is nothing to show our position as an oil-producing community. The Ijaw and Itsekiri, our counterparts, are doing well while we are suffering,” she added. At the end of the march, Omotejowho led the women to a military post before proceeding to the gate of the deserted palace of Agbon monarch and deposited the twigs to express their displeasure with him. Omotejo who accused soldiers of visiting mayhem on the community, stressing that scores of persons were killed, property worth millions of naira were destroyed, while scores of women and children were still missing. She slammed the Ovie of Agbon Kingdom, HRM Mike Omeru, Ogurimerime Ukori 1, for allegedly turning his back on the people shortly after he was crowned.
Source: The Nation

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