By Emma Amaize
WARRI—A group of armed robbers who hijacked a Toyota Hiace bus belonging to Igbinedion Universtiy, Okada in Edo State and were busy robbing passengers on Eku-Abraka Road in Delta State were forced to abandon their loot and flee for their dear lives following an exchange of gunfire with the men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Niger-Delta on Sunday.
Coordinator of the Joint Media Campaign Centre (JMCC) of the task force, Colonel Rabe Abubakar, who confirmed the incident, said the security men acted on a tip off and stormed the scene at about 5.24 pm.
His words: “ The suspected armed robbers hijacked a Toyota Hiace bus belonging to Igbinedion University, Okada, and in the process of robbing the passengers, the JTF men arrived the scene. The JTF troops then fired warning shots so that no innocent passenger was harmed while trying to dislodge the robbers. However, the robbers fled into the bush abandoning their loot.
“The robbers were in their multitudes and fled into the bush leaving behind the bus, handsets and other items they have robbed from innocent passengers.
“Meanwhile, there was no casualty on our side and the hijacked bus and valuables recovered from the bandits have been handed over to the driver and owners respectively. The JTF would not leave any stone unturned in getting rid of criminals in this region and we advice the youths to shun all forms of criminal acts or face the wrath of the law”.
Maybe JTF should be extend their missin to other part of the country. They are also needed in Lagos to dislodge Area Boys. They should also be sent to Kano to dislodge the “what-do-you-call-them?”….Nigeria will be safer and more secured…
obviously lets give credit to JTF,outside the issue of the Niger-Delta crises,the state and rate of robbery has drastically been on the low side in the region particularly in Delta State, atleast their presence has ensured that.
The amnesty is for the armed robbers that the JTF confronted. Now JTF is doing their real job of chasing criminals instead of our freedom fighters. With this focus, the region should be on track for true federalism. I wonder why those robbers do not take advantage of the amnesty because they will make more money than stealing handsets. Col Rabe, you have spoken the truth for once.
Amnesty International has described the crisis in the Niger Delta as a “human rights tragedy,” saying that the people of the area have seen their human rights abused by oil companies which their government cannot hold to account. The group, in a report released on Tuesday, said the situation in the Niger Delta, home to 31 million people, has fuelled anger and conflict. “People living in the Niger Delta have to drink, cook with, and wash in polluted water; they eat fish contaminated with oil and other toxins – if they are lucky enough to still be able to find fish,” said the report. The report stated that the situation in the Niger Delta provides a stark example of the lack of accountability of a government to its people, and of multinational companies’ almost total lack of accountability when it comes to the impact of their operations on human rights. The report titled, “Petroleum, Pollution and Poverty in the Niger Delta”, was presented by its Head of Business and Human Rights, Audrey Gaughran. It examined oil spills, gas flaring, waste dumping and other environmental impacts of the oil industry, stressing that evidence gathered on pollution and environment damage relates to the operations of Shell, the main oil company operating on land in the Niger Delta. The agency said that the human rights impact of pollution in the Niger Delta is greatly under-reported, adding that the majority of people in the area depend on the natural environment for their food and livelihood, particularly through agriculture and fisheries. Amnesty blames both the government and multi-national oil giants for the rights abuses in sub-Saharan Africa’s most populous country.
If mend wan write statement claming responsibility we fit dash them nahh no shakin!!
Una go blame MEND for this one?