The Paramount Ruler of Da-IKE Group of Houses and Communities in Rivers State, High Chief Sobomabo Jackrich-Egberipapa has said that militants in Nigeria deliberately partner up with other militant groups to create conflict in order to cause insecurity, as well as trying to deliberately provoke certain persons.

Jackrich-Egberipapa said this in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, where he discussed with ARISE NEWS Anchors his experience with his arrest and home invasion by Nigerian military officers in relation to the killing of 17 military officers in Okuama, Delta State.

The traditional ruler, when asked what was causing the conflict between militants, said, “I am not informed at all. Actually, I have known Endurance and which other group that is having this agitation, but the last time I checked, these people are in Delta and Bayelsa. So, I am not informed, I am not privy to that. I am only informed about what happened in Okuama.”

He further said, “I am not aware of what exactly is going on. Yes, there are some pockets of misunderstanding in the entire space between leaders, because of maybe pipeline surveillance, and this misunderstanding is not for only even the militants, it is also applicable to the militants themselves because sometimes, we understand that even the militants deliberately are partnering these so called militants and causing this insecurity around, deliberately doing something that can provoke certain persons, and then when the people speak out, maybe they want to use the connections to silence them.”

Jackrich-Egberipapa then, speaking about his arrest, said that the allegations levelled against him were “not genuine” and it was “a mere plan to actually take my life.”

He revealed that military officers stormed his house in the early hours of the morning, killing and shooting two people in the process, demanding his arrest and a search of his home.

“I requested to see their search warrant or their arrest warrant, whatsoever, which of course they never came with. And I asked what could have caused this harassment, and they said it’s as regards to an intelligence report or perhaps an information they gathered that you know few weeks, there was a dastardly act that was carried out in Okuama in Delta State, and some of the culprits are hiding in my own house. Such an outrageous allegation. I was shocked, I said, but if that is true, I’ve been here, you people should have come in the broad daylight, knowing that I am not an invincible person,” he said.

The traditional ruler then said that although the military personnel forced themselves into his house and searched and nothing incriminating was found, he was still taken into custody.

He said, “That night, I was taken to the cell and later on, brought out for an interview. I was blindfolded, though I don’t know the exact office I was, I got to the office and they opened my eyes, and then I had an interview with some officers who asked me certain questions. Questions like this Endurance, my knowledge of Endurance and all that, which I told them outrightly.

“I said, well, this is not my friend, I know Endurance, the way I know him was from the GOC, our elder brother Tompolo’s camp, because I knew that he grew up in Tompolo’s camp, he was an aide to Tompolo. And so, I told them what I know about that, but I don’t have that link with the so-called Endurance. And of course, the person they are claiming to have been hiding in my house, they did not give me the names of those people, or the people I am communicating with, they did not give me those names, but of course, nothing was found in my house, and so, the allegation is not genuine.”

Jackrich-Egberipapa, who was a former militant who embraced amnesty during Umar Musa Yar’Adua’s tenure as President, however revealed that he did not benefit from the amnesty.

He said, “The amnesty that was proclaimed, I am a victim of it, I am not benefitting from it. what happened was that the time Amnesty, the inception, when I was in detention, they came to me with one Dr Ekuang and one Mrs Agari. They came to me in the prison and then discussed with me about the amnesty to set me free, and then we discussed that, and when I came out, we dropped our arms, after which they were supposed to come and do my biometric so my boys can begin to be paid.

“But they played politics with my own area of coming to do biometrics until the amnesty phase passed and my people were not paid. Now, to tell you that I am changed, I did not go into violence, I rather see how I can address it in a civilised way, and I had to, after all these several confrontations with Chris Ikuku, who is gone, we had some disagreements, we came together and arrived. Finally, some of the promises were failed, were not met.

“To shorten the story, I sued Amnesty to the 9th Senate, and then the 9th Senate read my petition in the House. And then after several committee meetings of the committee of Ethics and Privileges, the Amnesty was directed to release my slot to me, 2,000 slots for my boys so that they can integrate my boys after they had investigated that sincerely, I was deprived of my own camp. They directed the Amnesty, but the Amnesty, then DQ, refused to do that, rather, it wants to give me some money. I said no, I wanted the slot, I don’t need the money. It failed to do that because we did not agree.” (ARISE NEWS)

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