By Emma Amaize, Samuel Oyadongha & Perez Brisibe

Bayelsa State governor, Mr Seriake Dickson, has said that his administration will work with security operatives to smoke out the killers of the three soldiers in Nembe from their hideout and bring them to justice. Governor Dickson, on a live radio interview in Yenagoa, said that the government would not condone a situation where the state will  be used as a launching pad for violence and criminal activities.

Condemning the incident in Nembe, he said that the government would convene a meeting with the traditional ruler, local government chairman and other major stakeholders in Nembe to deliberate on security issues in the area.

He also urged traditional rulers to identify more with their people and liaise with security agencies, to curb security challenges in their domains, pointing out that the government was collaborating with security operatives to unravel those responsible for the attack on the military personnel.

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adeyemi Ogunjelimusi, yesterday, said that armed men killed three soldiers on duty at Nembe on Monday because of the refusal of indigenes of the state to offer information on the activities of criminals to security agents and negligence on the part of the soldiers.

Ogunjelimusi stated this yesterday while addressing prominent indigenes of the state at the inauguration of the Eminent Peoples Forum at the Police Officers Mess in Yenagoa.

He spoke just as Niger Delta activist, Annkio Briggs, named by the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, RNDA, as a sympathiser of the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, denied the allegation from her Port Harcourt base.

The police chief said that  the refusal of indigenes of some communities to give out prompt information had led to the attacks on security personnel, adding,  “No amount of security personnel deployed to an area can ensure proper security without information from indigenes of such communities.”

He added that the current administration has embarked on security reforms to ensure proper security of lives of personnel and civilians, noting, “Security by police and other personnel is beyond normal despite poor logistics.”

Annkio Briggs, who reacted to her being linked to NDA, said: “I have never and will never support the use of violence to achieve freedom in any way.  I am a proud and unapologetic Ijaw woman and advocate for the Niger Delta region. I will not be silenced, I stand on the back of truth and by God’s grace, justice will prevail in the end.”