WE WORKING TO END INSECURITY IN IKA LAND – Okubor,
KIDNAPPING; WE ARE WORKING ROUND THE CLOCK TO END CRIMINALITY IN IKA LAND, – Dr. Okubor, President General, Ute Okpu Kingdom
…. Says situation not that complex
…. Admits Possibility Of Internal Collaborators
…. Argues That Constitution Recognizes Free Movement but Not for Criminals
…. Insists Ika Nation Will Fight These Criminals With every strength It can muster.
For the good of people of Ika nation of Delta State that have been facing serious security challenge particularly kidnapping, allegedly orchestrated by the Fulani herdsmen, there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel as His Excellency, RT Honorable (Elder) Sheriff Oborevwori led Delta State Government is proactively working in collaboration with the men of the Nigeria Police Force, Members of the Nigeria Military, Local Vigilante groups, Ika Traditional Rulers and leaders of thoughts to end kidnapping in Ika Land as well as bring the perpetrators to book.
The above indication emerged through Dr. Festus Okubor , the President General (Ute Okpu Kingdom, Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta, during a telephone chat with Ika Weekly Newspaper’s Special Officer, on Wednesday May 8, 2024.
According to Okubor, the government is on top of the situation. Everything is being done, and at this point in time, I’ll love to encourage our people because some of the things I heard was that people are scared to go to the farm.
In his words, we need to let our people know that the situation is not that complex. Everything is being done. They should not be scared of going to their farms and living their normal lives. We are not quiet; authority is not quiet. The police are not quiet. We will support them. We will defend them. We have no magic wand that stops a person from becoming a criminal, but we will make sure that any criminal that comes into our domain, will be fish him out.
Lamenting the heinous activities of these criminals masquerading as herdsmen, Dr. Okubor, who is also the Chief Strategist to Governor Oboreivori stated that Ute-okpu can be described as the epic-center of issues of kidnapping in Ika land.
‘They have found their way into our area, They have done a lot of unspeakable things. But, at some point, I said to some people that these hoodlums were coming to our communities as if they were going to look for snails which are usually done in the mornings and evenings. They will come in the morning and in the evenings.
Asked about the practical steps the state is taking to arrest the situation, Okubor responded; we are doing everything in our power to bring this to an end. But first, we must understand the nature of the threat. Where do they go? What route do they follow? The people they catch, where do they take them? How long does it take them to get to where they are going? How many times do they stop? You must have intelligence when dealing with the enemy. We gathered all the information and spoke with the government and we decided to confront it head on.
Giving details of how hydra-headed the challenge has become, the medical Doctor turned politician narrated how he went for a funeral ceremony recently, and in the field, there were about 50 Fulani, Niger, Hausa, Cameroon women and children, harassing everybody and begging for money in the same Agbor.
‘First of all, begging is not our culture. And if people are going to come to live with us, they must respect our culture. The painful part of it was that many of us (Ika indigenes) were complacent about it. They saw these things going on and nobody raised a voice. And I said, how come? The first thing I need to point out here is that the responsibility to stop this nuisance is on everybody. Everyone in Ika must stand up to ensure that there is no potential for these parasites.
He argued that Nigerian Constitution allows free movement of citizens from one point to another but the constitution does not allow free criminal movement. What we’re seeing here is free criminal movement.
On the possibility of internal collaborators, Dr. Okubor thus responded; That is the reason why I started from the insider complacency. If you have studied crime, there is no serious crime without an insider. The bible also tells us that man’s enemies are they of his own household. These are known positions of culture. So, obviously, there are internal collaborators. We are also praying and hoping that we will be able to find them. And when we find them, our culture will take place’. For example, all our traditional rulers are placing curses.
Having said this, I’m also happy to announce that the government has helped us. They have sent mobile police men who now join us to patrol the flashpoints. When we patrolled the railway lines, we found out that the railway is a major geographical positioning for them. They hide around and when it’s daylight, they come to the railway again. That also is being monitored. So, we have had this challenge and our responsibility is to do everything we can, to stop them quickly
‘And our people have been walking towards that direction too confronting these criminals. Unfortunately, very recently, we lost the head of our vigilante group. May his soul rest in peace. He died for all of us to be saved and we can ever forget that. The community has decided to immortalize him; the community has offered to take full responsibility for his burial’.
But the good thing is that while we were combing the forests recently, we found the corpse of one of the kidnappers, which means that the bullet got them, and that should put some fear into them. What we intend to let the criminals understand is that Ika land is not a good place for them. These are criminals of the worst form and we will tackle them with every strength the Ika nation can muster. He concluded.
