MEMBERS of the Liberation Movement
of Urhobo (LiMUP) have warned that the arrest of their leader and
alleged kidnap kingpin, Kelvin Ibruvwe (aka Oniarah), may unleash
deadlier violence in the area.
Speaking with our reporter on Kokori on
Thursday, the new leader of the group, simply identified as Don Jazzy,
gave the clearest hint yet that one of the men arrested by Department of
Security Services (DSS) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, is Kelvin
Ibruvwe.
Don Jazzy, who wielded an assault rifle
like scores of other young members of the group, said, “If one Kelvin is
removed another Kelvin will replace him”. “Government is of the opinion
that if they take the leader out, his followers will be demoralised and
be dispersed, but that is a dangerous road to take because these
followers will become more desperate and engage in heinous criminality
without any restraining influence which the leader provides.
“We are still willing to carry on the
legacy; even a little child from this community today when he grows up
and this level of injustice persists, will end up agitating for a better
life.” He accused the government of playing politics with the agitation
of the Kokori people in view of the enviable position of their
counterparts from the other ethnic group. “The truth of the matter is
that the government knows what to do and we have already told them
before.
Kelvin told them that we have one
thousand ‘Kelvins’, this is not a joke.” According to him, the struggle
for the emancipation of Urhobo land will continue despite the setback
suffered following the arrest of their leader. Don Jazzy urged the
Federal Government to release Kelvin Ibruvwe and issue a presidential
pardon for all the militants, including the immediate commencement of
the development of Urhobo people. His words: ”
All the people that have been arrested
must be released. Massive infrastructural projects should commence in
Kokori and other Urhobo land .Our youths are armed but we are not happy
that we are carrying arms to fight the government but we are pushed to
the wall. For the youths to put down their weapons and for us to clear
our names, there has to be a presidential pardon.” He condemned the
deafening silence of the apex Urhobo socio-cultural organisation Urhobo
Progressive Union (UPU) in the impasse, urging the group to stand up and
fight for the rights of the Urhobo people.
His words: “Our leaders should stand up
and fight for our rights. If our leaders stand up to government
insisting that the right things must be done, government will have no
choice but to listen to us. If our leaders do not listen to the youths
and become collaborators, we will deal with them in due course. They are
the ones who sponsor the media against us calling us names because they
have money to take care of their children and send them abroad to
school.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of elderly women in
Kokori community on Friday continued indefinite protest to force troops
of the Joint Task Force, ‘Operation Pulo Shield’, from the community.
The troops from the 222 Battalion of the Nigerian Army were deployed in
the community in the wake of the arrest of alleged notorious armed
robbery and kidnap kingpin, Kelvin Oniarah.
On Thursday and Friday, they carried
freshly cut twigs, marched through the main (Market) Road in the town
singing songs denouncing the activities of some personalities in the
community. They vowed that the protest would continue until Kelvin, the
Egba priests and all youths arrested in the community are released.
Their leader (Otota Eya), Mrs. Omotejowho, who was dressed in the
all-white traditional attire of the Egba cult, spoke in pidgin English
saying: “Our juju priest and children arrested by soldiers must be
released by government. They should be given jobs, not arrested. “Kokori
has one of the best blends of crude oil in the country, yet we have
nothing to show for it.
“Go round yourself, you will find there
is nothing to show our position as an oil-producing community. The Ijaw
and Itsekiri, our counterparts, are doing well while we are suffering,”
she added. At the end of the march, Omotejowho led the women to a
military post before proceeding to the gate of the deserted palace of
Agbon monarch and deposited the twigs to express their displeasure with
him. Omotejo who accused soldiers of visiting mayhem on the community,
stressing that scores of persons were killed, property worth millions of
naira were destroyed, while scores of women and children were still
missing. She slammed the Ovie of Agbon Kingdom, HRM Mike Omeru,
Ogurimerime Ukori 1, for allegedly turning his back on the people
shortly after he was crowned.
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