15 Soldiers Killed In Bayelsa In 6 Months

Soji Ajibola, Yenagoa - 05.01.2008

At least, 15 soldiers attached to the Joint Military Taskforce (JTF) with base in Bayelsa State have died since June last year in the cause of maintaining peace and security along the creeks and waterways of the state.

The state JTF Commander, Lt. Col. Christopher Musa, disclosed this in Yenagoa during an interactive session with journalists on Friday.

Musa, however, said this misfortune would not stop the outfit from performing its peacekeeping mission in the state.

He noted that the security outfit was not drafted into the state to wage war on anybody or group, but to maintain peace and stabilise the security situation of the state.

Musa said JTF had been able to curtail criminal activities among youths in some local communities, urging the communities to eschew the habit of harbouring kidnappers, pipeline vandals and other miscreants in their midst.

The commander regretted the kidnapping of aged people in the local communities, saying such ugly trend debases the African tradition and customs.

He advised against the paying of ransom to kidnappers, noting that this strategy would make the abduction “business” unattractive and less lucrative.

The JTF boss disclosed that some JTF soldiers, based on security tip-off stormed Angiama, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, where it smashed activities of some youths that specialise in breaking oil pipelines of multinational oil firms operating in the locality.