The Adaka Boro Centre

The Ijaw National Congress with deep regret views the recent call by the Arewa consultative Forum ACF, on the JTF to continue with its military offensive in the Niger Delta until peace is restored. We consider this highly provocative stand, as unfortunate and unbecoming of a body made up of men regarded as "elders" in Nigeria. The most crimiual climax of the Arewa position is the levity and insensitivity in the statement credited to the ACF national publicity secretary that the JTF campaigns must necessarily come with collateral damages." In others innocent people must be killed in the offensive.

We are not surprised that once again, the ACF has thrown its weight on the side of the wanton murder of innocent Nigerians whose only "capital crime" is to dare to ask for their rights.

       The ACF statement and its profuse defence of the Federal Government and JTF positions, confirms our earlier suspicion that the so-called search – and – rescue misadventure of the JTF in Gbaramatu kingdom is a premeditated plan by the Federal Government, the JTF, the Arewa consultative forum and other reactionary forces in Nigeria too, in the Ominous words of Hon Mohammed Ibn Na’ Allah, "do away with 20 million militants in the Niger Delta for 120 other Nigerians to live".

We ask where the ACF was while its "responsible federal government reneged on all promises made to the Niger Delta people. Indeed is it "responsible" for Mr President, whose position the ACF is defending, to withhold funds meant for the NDDC because they have, in his words "expired"? Did the President ever pay an official visit to the south – south states to confirm his interest to solve the Niger Delta problem as part of his 7 – point agenda? Does the ACF know that in two years of a four – year tenure, the president only visited Bayelsa for the burial of the father of the vice president and to campaign in the re-run elections in Bayelsa and Cross River States? Is that what a responsible government or its head would do?.

We call on the world to remark that the ACF is the only organization in Nigeria to support the whole – sale bombing and destruction of innocent lives in the name of "search and rescue" by the JTF. The ACF was in full support of the judicial murder of the late Ogoni activist, Ken Saro – Wiwa and others. ACF also Supported the killing of innocent civilians on the streets of Lagos during the June – 12 protests.

The INC reaffirms our belief in our position that nothing in the JTF – militants clash justifies the killing of innocent civilians by bombing, shelling, burning and extra judical killings. We insist that the blood of the innocent will be on the heads of those who ordered those killings of women and children and on the heads of those who so openly support them.

We call on all Ijaw people every where to hope in God and go about their peaceful activities with great care. We call upon the world to note that many Ijaws have been killed for "militancy" and the only ‘weapons" found in their pockets turned out to be tooth – picks.

The ACF, Mohammed Na’ Allah, the JTF elements should be reminded that the force that eliminated Ken Saro – Wiwa, a "mere minority" man, later also consumed a "blue blood" Fulani, the late Shehu Musa Yar A’dua, in the words of the late Martin Luther King "injustice any where is a threat to justice every where".

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