A prominent monarch in the Niger Delta, the Obi of Owa, Dr. Emmanuel Efeizomor II, has given his support to the military action against the Niger Delta militants by the Federal Government.
The monarch said that the militant groups of the oil-rich region had derailed in their actions and described them as nothing but a group of criminals who continually bring the reign of terror on the people of the area.
Speaking with THISDAY in Maiduguri where he led a group of traditional rulers from Delta State to the installation of the new Shehu of Bornu, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi, the Obi of Owa said that the so-called militants are law breakers and deserved to be punished for their crimes.
"The Federal Government is doing the right thing in trying to bring it (crime) down because anybody who perpetrate any act that breaks the law should be brought to book," he said.
"What these so-called militants are doing, by breaking the law, is bad and we have to appeal to these youths to realise that you cannot break the law and go scot-free.?
The monarch said the militants were opened to so many windows to air the views and protest against the perceived injustice in a democracy instead of picking arms against the nation.
He stressed that ?it is not good to terrorise the people in a democratic setting in the name of militancy, saying "If anything is wrong about their communities, they can go to court or call the appropriate authorities to listen to them rather than taking the law into their hands.?
He advised the new Shehu to follow the example of his predecessor, noting that ?the late Shehu was liked by everybody and everybody mourned his death.? He urged the new Shehu to further the cause of human development so that the people could have the necessity of life .
"He should also make friends and build bridges with other traditional rulers by visiting other states when occasion demand," he said. " It is a major way of building frontier of brotherhood and statesmanship.?
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