SOLDIERS of the Joint Task Force (JTF) have arrested two suspected militants near Warri in connection with the recent blowing up an oil pipeline and the Delta State government has begun talks with militant leaders as the authorities seek to forestall a return of militancy.  

Soldiers attached to the JTF known as Operation Pulo Shield in the Niger Delta, have stepped up operations across Ijaw communities in the Gbaramatu Kingdom of Delta State in response to the recent blowing up of a pipeline. Ijaw youths blew up the pipeline protesting the indictment of one of former militant leader Government Ekpemupolo popularly known as Tompolo. 

They are protesting a recent court order calling for the arrest of Tompolo. He had been invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to answer charges relating to supply contracts he was awarded by the Goodluck Jonathan administration but following his snubbing of the invitation, a warrant has been issued for his arrest. 

Troops have since invaded the area and investigations revealed that the arrested militants are already making confessional statements to security agents, revealing a new dimension into the bombings of oil facilities. Sources have given the identities of arrested militants as Collins Odurubo and Benjie and they were said to be helping the security agents to track down others involved in the act. 

Some of the communities said to have been stormed include Ikpokpo, Saghara, Opuedebulo, Okpeleama and Tebujo, all Ijaw communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area. It was also learnt that the Delta State deputy governor Kingsley Otuaro, met with Tompolo in one of the riverine communities to find an end to the bombings. 

Tompolo has insisted that the bombings were being carried out by some All Progressives Congress (APC) members in Bayelsa and Delta States to implicate him. He has written to President Muhammadu Buhari denying any involvement with the bombings. 

Already, the Ijaw Youth Council has condemned the invasion of Ijaw communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom, insisting there was no need for it. While condemning the spate of bombings, its spokesman, Eric Omare, said the military invasion will further degrade the environment of their people, adding that there was no need to compound the plight of residents of the areas.