Ex-Niger Delta militant leader, High Chief Ateke Tom, has told the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) that his agitation was devoid of criminality and heartlessness.
Tom, who spoke in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, recalled that he never got involved in criminal activities during his peiod of agitation.
He said his struggle led to the development of the Niger Delta.
Cautioning the NDA to shun violence and avoid dragging him into the renewed crisis in the region, Tom said he was surprised that the new militant group attempted to tarnish his reputation by dropping his name in its activities.
The NDA, in a recent statement, accused Tom of supporting the Federal Government, adding that his struggle and that of his close associates was based on criminality.
But Tom, who is the leader of Niger Delta Vigilante Force (NDVF), said his agitation increased political participation in the area, adding that former President Goodluck Jonathan was a beneficiary of his agitation.
The former militant leader urged NDA to stop the destruction of oil facilities.
The NDVF leader said NDA’s activities were causing untold hardship among the region’s residents.
He said his struggle was an agitation for true federalism.
Tom added that it paved the way for the emergence of more educated youths from the region through the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).
source: nigerianeye
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