News-OPC hands Niger Delta militants 14-day ultimatum

– OPC has handed Niger Delta militants a very severe warning – The pan-Yoruba organization issued a 14-day ultimatum to militants – OPC issued the warning in reaction to recent attacks The reformed Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to suspected Niger Delta militants.

OPC warned the militants to desist from attacking communities in the South West, else the Ijaw people in the region would gear up for reprisal attacks. The pan-Yoruba organization issued the threat while reacting to recent attacks by suspected militants on Imusin and Ogijo in Ogun and some riverine communities in Ikorodu area of Lagos state. Daily Post reports the group in a statement by Comrade Dare Adesope entitled, ‘‘Incursion of Ijaw militants into Yoruba land: Enough is enough,’’ threatened reprisal attack if the suspected Ijaw militants failed to end the incursion into the South-West at the end of the ultimatum. According to the group, the attack in the South-West was an affront on the Yoruba nation and it would not be accepted. The statement reads in part: “Enough of these invasions, killings and kidnapping of our people right on our own soil. We of the Oodua Peoples Congress (Reformed) have waited for this long, hoping that the government would curb the deadly acts of the Ijaw people on our kinsmen in their fatherland in Ogun and Lagos states. But, it has now dawned on us that the lives and properties of our people and, indeed, the masses are of no importance to those in authorities and the marauding militants. “It is a known fact that we, the Yoruba, are the most contented, accommodating and tolerant among all the ethnic groups in Nigeria. We wholeheartedly welcome other tribes coming into our states either to reside or do business. But, if they want to take our hospitality for stupidity, we are ready to prove to them that the gentility of a tiger is not an act of cowardice. Before now, it was the Fulani herdsmen, now it is the Ijaw people that are on the prowl. Enough is enough “Consequently, we are giving the Ijaw militants a 14-day ultimatum to allow peace to reign in our land. If they fail to heed the warning, it will henceforth be an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. We will prove to them that Lagos belongs to the Yoruba and not a no man’s land that they tend to erroneously claim. “If they must care to know, we have information and facts about where their leaders’ properties are situated in the entire South-West and where their people reside in our midst as well.” Meanwhile, the national coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Gani Adams, says his organisation has been reluctant to engage suspected militants and pipeline vandals who have been terrorising some communities in Lagos and Ogun states because they have been demonized by people. According to The Punch, Gani Adams, speaking during a press conference on Thursday, July 7, in Lagos condemned the recent spate of attacks by suspected militants and pipeline vandals in South-West Nigeria. The OPC leader who described the attacks as criminal said though some affected communities have been seeking the support of the OPC on the issue, he had to be sure that its members would not be criminalised for any actions taken. He accused the people, including those of Yoruba descent, security agents and the media of demonizing OPC in the past.