The Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, yesterday said its fighters attacked two police gunboats at Peremabiri, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.The gunboats were escorting a former militant leader, Mr. Eris Paul, aka Ogunboss.According to MEND, all ex-militant leaders who used their positions to acquire “ill-gotten property” had been marked for their wrath.“They are now persona non grata in the creeks, and their lives and ill-gotten property have become legitimate targets for destruction.”A statement by Gbomo Jomo, said the attack that occurred on Saturday was carried out in a style reminiscent of the maiden operation of its campaign, Hurricane Exodus, that killed 15 policemen in the state on April, 2013.MEND said Ogunboss and other ex-militant leaders “now hiding in the cities, sold their birthright for contracts and political appointments to the detriment of a just cause.“Our action was predicated on the words of our hero, the great Madiba, Nelson Mandela, who said, ‘No self-respecting freedom fighter would take orders from a government he is fighting against or jettison a long-time ally in the interest of pleasing an antagonist.”The group also said it was not yet freedom for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation which recently announced the completion of repairs on the Escravos-Lagos gas pipeline which MEND said it attacked by Hurricane Exodus.It advised Nigerians not to expect improvement in power supply through gas pipelines until the issues that led to militancy in the Niger Delta had been addressed.MEND added that it learnt from a reliable source in the National Hospital, Abuja, that the ‘last paragraph’ that concluded the psychiatric evaluation report on Mr. Charles Okah was doctored.
By Wale Odunsi
