By Emma Amaze, Egufe Yafugborhi and Perez Brisibe

THERE was anxiety,  Saturday, over reports that soldiers attacked militant leader and a former president of Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo -Asari, but IYC cleared the air on the matter.

Spokesperson for IYC, Eric Omare, in a statement, said: “The leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has been inaugurated with calls relating to an alleged attack on Alhaji Asari Dokubo, a former President of the Ijaw Youth Council by military men. “Considering the security sensitive nature of the matter. the IYC leadership wishes to state and inform the public that there is no truth in the story. Alhaji Asari Dokubo is hale and healthy.

“We call on Ijaws and Niger Deltans, especially the youths to disregard the story and go about their normal activities”. “However, the IYC leadership notes that the massive deployment of military men in the Niger Delta is causing so much anxiety and fear in the region.

There is no reason for the deployment of the military, especially now that stakeholders are taken step towards the peaceful resolution of the renewed hostilities in the Niger Delta”.