Niger Delta: Niger Delta Avengers Are Desperate Criminals - Ateke Tom

 

A former Niger delta war lord, Ateke Tom has condemned in totality the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers.

Ateke on Monday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital while reacting to the activities of the militants called on the security agencies to fish out the criminals and prosecute them in line with the law if they refused to lay down their arms and unmasked themselves as responsible citizens.

According to him:  “As one of the peace ambassadors in this region, I want to state it clear that any responsible Niger Delta youths would not support the criminal act being perpetrated by the so-called Niger Delta Avengers. I condemned in totality the activities of this frustrated, faceless and desperate masked group called the Avengers.

“I am also pleading with the ex-war lords not to use the issue of the avengers to hit up the polity by causing trouble in the region, either by name calling or by insulting our elders and chiefs. Bombing and destroying our oil installations and government properties in the region is only exposing children and women to another hardship.

“I want to call on the elders and chiefs in this region to talk to their children; there is no gain in violence and trouble making. We must see ourselves as one and learn how to support the government at the centre whether we are in support of it or not. In my state I have since started sensitization campaign against kidnapping and vandalism.”