N/Delta Avengers instrument by S-South politicians to intimidate leaders – Junaid

On June 27, 20161:17 am

By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor

ABUJA—Outspoken Northern politician, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to treat the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, as terrorists and mete out appropriate military action against it as it is doing to Boko Haram insurgents in the North.

Mohammed, who was a member of the last National Conference, told Vanguard in an interview yesterday that it was wrong for the Buhari administration to try to appease the Niger Delta militants while fighting a similar terrorist group in another part of the country.



The Kano politician and former adviser to President Shehu Shagari warned that any attempt by Buhari to negotiate with the avengers instead of crushing them to serve as a deterrent to would-be terrorists, could lead to another civil war.

He said: “Why is Buhari tackling Boko Haram with the military might and going behind to negotiate with Niger Delta militants?

“If Buhari is not careful with NDA he will plunge the country into another civil war because he does not have the mandate of the law to negotiate with terrorists.

“No forward-looking nation negotiates with terrorists. And I should say that if he does not have the political will to deal with the militants, he should step aside. Governance does not have room for destroyers.”

Mohammed insisted that apart from dealing ruthlessly with the bombers, Buhari should fish out and punish adequately the sponsors of the deadly attacks, who have already been identified as politicians being prosecuted by the anti-graft agencies for corruption.

He said that given the demands made by NDA for peace with the Federal Government, Buhari did not need to look further to pick up the masterminds of the attacks and hand down appropriate sanctions against them.

He described the emergence of the avengers as a continuation of the instrument often used by South-South politicians to intimidate leaders from the north and their political opponents.

Mohammed pleaded with the Federal Government not to succumb to the antics, which was used to harass late President Musa Yar’Adua.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/06/treat-niger-delta-avengers-boko-haram-junaid-mohammed-tells-buhari/