Niger Delta Group Hits Back at Danjuma, Threatens To Blow Up His Oil Blocks
BEVERLY HILLS, January 31, (THEWILL) – As reactions continue to trail the call by former Defence Minister, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, for the arrest of Niger Delta ex-militant warlords, a group, Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change (NDMRC), has taken the former defence chief to the cleaners.
The group said the former defence chief was the one who deserves to be probed and arrested for allegedly “spearheading the stoning of President Goodluck Jonathan in some states in the North during the presidential campaign rallies.”
Danjuma had called for the arrest of Niger Delta ex-militants warlord, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), Asari Dokubo, General Boyloaf and others over recent alleged war threats.
In a statement made available to THEWILL and signed by its President, Nelly Emma; Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Officer, Stanley Mukoro, the group said the call by the former defence minister was uncalled-for and should be retracted.
“Our attention has been drawn to the recent comments of General Danjuma in Kano where he called for the arrest of our illustrious sons for speaking their minds on the state of the nation. We hate to join issues with General Danjuma who has been very insensitive to the plight of the people of the Niger Delta region, but we are constrained to react as we are left with no other option,” the statement read in part.
The group also wondered why General Danjuma never called for the arrest of those behind Boko Haram in the North.
“We are not going to take likely to reckless comments against our ex-freedom fighters such as Tompolo, Dokubo, Boyloaf and others from General Danjuma, a man suffering from brainwaves, old age and his co-travellers from the North.”
“The former Army Chief is behind the stoning of President Goodluck Jonathan in some states in the North during his campaign rallies.”
“He should rather be arrested for being behind terrorism in the North.”
“He has never raised his voice against the evil being carried out in the North against President Jonathan.”
“Therefore, Danjuma should shut up his mouth if he has nothing to contribute to the unity of Nigeria as an elder statesman,” the statement added.
The group urged the former Minister “to go and sleep on account of his old age,” saying; “General Danjuma who has benefited so much from the wealth of the Niger Delta region with his numerous oil blocks and has been very insensitive to the suffering of the people of the region should go and sleep as we want to believe that he does not know what he is talking about as a result of old age and brainwaves.”
According to the group, “People like General Danjuma do not know the colour of crude oil, yet he is soaked with the wealth from our oil and he was bold enough to call for the arrest of our sons who have been fighting for a better deal for the neglected people of the region”.
The group warned the former Defence Minister, to mind his “reckless utterances”, accusing him of not acquiring his several oil blocks through due process.
They called on President Goodluck Jonathan and Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to probe his oil blocks in the Niger Delta region.
“We will not hesitate to move that they should be revoked and failure to do that, we will blow them up because they belong to us,” the group threatened.
The group also accused General Danjuma for allegedly working hand-in-hand with multinational oil companies to short-change indigenous oil and gas companies in the Niger Delta region that have invested fortunes on capacity building as a result of their high hope on the Nigerian Content Law.
“We know the dirty roles General Danjuma and others from the North have been playing with the multinational oil companies to frustrate the efforts of indigenous companies in the Niger Delta region and we are making it loud and clear that we are tired and sick of the likes of General Danjuma who are making life unbearable for the operators of our indigenous oil and gas firms and the people of the region in general,” the group stated.
It added: “We want General Danjuma, an apostle of terrorism, to refrain from making highly inflammable comments against our leaders such as Tompolo, Dokubo, Boyloaf and others. We say enough is enough.”