JTF intensifies arms mop-up in N'Delta

The Nigerian Army on Thursday declared that it would continue the mop-up of arms used by youths in the Niger Delta in the heat of the crises in the area.The army also denied that it had started granting amnesty to youths from who the arms were seized from, saying it had no powers to do so.The Joint Task Force also denied the allegations it had assured that the amnesty would be extended.The JTF stated that its activities in the Niger Delta, coded Operation Restore Hope, had succeeded in ridding the region of militancy, adding that the fresh challenge faced by the force was illegal oil refining.It insisted that the decision of the JTF to continue the seizure of arms from illegal owners was in the interest of the country and the Niger Delta in particular, stressing that its decision did not suggest any collusion with youths.The JTF maintained that the protests by some youths in the Niger Delta that they were not included in the amnesty was uncalled for, insisting that any disturbance to the public peace would be crushed by the army.The spokesman for the force in the Niger Delta, Lt. Col. Timothy Antigha, in an interview with our correspondent in Warri, explained that the army had arrested more than 300 persons this year alone in connection with various crimes related to oil theft in the region.He said, As I speak to you now our men have continued to arrest and seize arms from these people because it is in the best interest of this country and the Niger Delta region.But to say that we have been promising them amnesty is totally untrue because we do not have the power to grant amnesty. Even the Special Adviser to the President on the Niger Delta, Mr Kingsley Kuku, has denied ever saying so.
Click here to read full news..