The Ijaw Youth Council has dismissed the rumoured attack by military personnel on Alhaji Asari Dokubo, founder of the defunct Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, NDPVF.
There were widespread rumours of Asari being killed in an alleged confrontation with soldiers in the morning of Saturday, August 27, 2016, Nigerian Pilot reports.
But in a statement by the spokesman for IYC, Eric Omare, on Saturday, said the former militant warlord was in good health and there was never a confrontation between him and military men.
IYC, an umbrella body for Ijaw youths, also called for the immediate withdrawal of troops from the region particularly the creeks of the Niger Delta following the recent ceasefire deal reached with militant youths and stakeholders in the region.
The group stated that there was no reason for military deployment in the region, adding that such was already causing tension and fear among people in the region.
On Saturday, the Nigerian Army announced it had commenced operations against militants in the oil-rich region. In a statement e-mailed to The Trent with photos, one of a dead man, the military claimed it had killed 5 militants and arrested 23.
Alhaji Dokubo is yet to comment on the rumour.
