life in the incident.
Recalled that JTF troops had repelled an attack by
militants and killed a suspected militant leader in a shoot-out with the
bandits in Ondo State on April 30.
Spokesman of
the Joint Force, Maj. Abubakar Abudullahi, had confirmed the development and
said that a soldier was killed and three others injured during the shoot-out.
Reacting to the development, West, who is also the Senior Special Assistant to
Bayelsa Governor on Niger Delta Youth Matters, told NAN in an interview on
Sunday in Yenagoa that the attack was regrettable. He noted that the attack
came at a time the efforts of the military at restoring and sustaining peace
and reducing criminality in the region were yielding fruits.
West further condoled
with the Commander of JTF, Rear Admiral Suleiman Apochi and the family of the
slain soldier and advised residents in the area to assist the military in
fishing out fleeing militants behind the dastardly act.
“The attack coming at a
time the JTF had achieved so much in terms of maintaining relative peace in the
region is very sad, because the peace in the region had been boosting the
confidence of investors.
“The community people should assist the military to
track the militants because they are not only a threat to the military but they
pose greater danger to the innocent population, it is even more condemnable due
to efforts by stakeholders to change the perception of investors. “Our people
in the Niger Delta region should understand that violence has no benefit to the
region.
“We have seen what has been achieved within the months of peace in
terms of Federal Government’s commitment towards development of the region”
West said.
He noted that stakeholders in the region were working tirelessly
with the government and security agencies to guarantee conducive atmosphere for
development and urged the military to remain focused and not allow the incident
to dampen their morale. West further urged the JTF to enlighten residents in
the affected areas that the military was in the area to isolate the deviants
and protect the people.
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