Panic As Military Deploys Fighter Jets, Goes After Niger Delta Avengers

Panic has enveloped the creeks of Bayelsa following sudden presence of fighter jets and surveillance aircrafts which hovered in coastal communities in search of hideouts of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).

The military planes were sighted in some of the communities in Southern Ijaw area where most of the attacks on pipelines and killing of soldiers occurred recently.

A resident from Ondewari said the sight and sounds of the jets caused tension in the area.

He said some residents were already getting ready to seek refuge in the mangrove following fears of possible bombardments when the jets disappeared.

“We noticed the jets in the morning. They were military jets. We were afraid and most people were thinking of taking cover when suddenly they flew away. We are still afraid that they may come back. We can’t forget the Odi experience”, he said.

But the umbrella body of Ijaw youths, the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) immediately condemned the presence of the fighter jets in the creeks.

The IYC President, Mr. Udens Eradiri, after an emergency meeting of the council, in Yenagoa, said the jets were also sighted in some parts of the state capital and Gbaramatu in Delta State.

He urged the military to apply caution in their operations and warned against the strategy of intimidating the Niger Delta residents.

Eradiri insisted that the crisis would not be resolved by deploying fighter jets. He was also the same person who had said government should open the Maritime University in Tompolo's town for peace.