NEMA Intervenes in Faceoff in the Niger Delta Crisis

NEMA Boss Meets JTF over Plight of Displaced People

The Director General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), AVM Mohammed Audu-Bida and his team at the weekend have visited the internally displaced people Camp at a primary school in Ogbe-Ijoh Community in Warri South West Council where the recent crisis between Joint Task Force (JTF) and Niger-Delta militants intensified.

While distributing relief materials brought in by trucks at the camp established by the agency, Audu-Bida said the government would ensure the items reach the distressed especially women, children and the elderly through collaboration with the security personnel, state and local government officials.

He said the concern of NEMA is not about just distributing the materials but to ensure that the displaced peoples are secured and reunited with their families as soon possible.

Some of the displaced especially women pleaded with NEMA boss to intervene in ensuring that the Joint Task Force Team allow them access their communities. They said that as much as NEMA’s gesture of relief materials and provision of social amenities in the camp is a welcome development, a Leader of Legislative Council, Mrs Rose Tulu said “home will always be the home than life in the camp or other hideout.”

Items distributed at the camp by NEMA included bags of rice, beans, gari, salt, mattresses, wax material, children wears, gallons of cooking oil, rubber mats, buckets, cooking utensils, disinfectants, and construction of emergency toilets.

Some of the officials who received the NEMA during the inspection included Barrister Kingsley Otuaro, Chairman of the State Relief and Rehabilitation Committee, George Ekpemupolo, Chairman of the Warri South West Local Government who is said to be a brother to the most wanted man, Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo

NEMA Boss Meets JTF over Plight of Displaced People

The Director General of National Emergency Management Agency, AVM Mohammed Audu-Bida (rtd) in company of government officials and community leaders in Warri South West Local Government area of Delta State have visited the headquarters of Joint Task Force (JTF) to appeal for adequate security for the displaced people in the Warri Crisis.

The Director General said the agency had to close a primary school in one of the area to establish a camp for the displaced, hungry and sick people and may open up more camps if necessary in areas worst affected by the crisis.

Audu-Bida sought the assistance of the task force in the areas of supplies of relief materials to displaced people in various communities and ensured the safety of their lives and properties. He said NEMA had been discussing with the community leaders to cooperate with the taskforce in its mission to avoid human casualties just he said NEMA is working hard to verify the accurate figures of the victims which is touted to be about 3000.

Being a retired general in the Air-Force himself, Audu-Bida said NEMA would not interfere in the mandate and rescue operation of the taskforce in their current mission, he urged them to ensure that innocent victims are not caught in the cross-fire.

The Maritime Component Commander of the Task Force who received the NEMA delegation, Commodore Azubuike Ajuonu, while appreciating the efforts of NEMA in reaching the displaced with relief material s said that the military would not shift its position in its search and rescue operation until they locate the missing officers and men of the Nigerian Army that were abducted by the militants about two weeks ago.

He said that it was unbecoming and regrettable that Nigerian soldiers who risk their lives to protect the nation’s integrity were been hunted by criminal gangs in the Niger Delta just because the army had been tolerating them all these while. He said the excessive criminality of the youths in embarrassing the nation and its people through blackmail, extortion and killing must come to an end for peace and progress of the region and the country.

Commodore Ajuonu added that the community leaders who accompany the NEMA boss on the visit should talk to their youths to produce the abducted military personnel which would be the only condition to ease the blockage in the reverine areas described as dens of hijacking, kidnapping, sea pirates, robbery and merciless killing of innocent Nigerians and foreigners.

Yushau A. Shuaib
Head of Press and Public Relations
GSM: 0803-5555-999