There’s no Boko Haram in Bayelsa – JTF

“Those masquerading as MEND to perpetrate all kinds of atrocities in the Niger Delta are pipeline vandals and illegal oil bunkerers.” The Joint Task Force, JTF, in the Niger Delta on Thursday said there was no Boko Haram terrorists in Bayelsa and no schools were shut in the state due to the fear of the insurgent group. The Media Coordinator of the task force, Mustapha Anka, who addressed a press conference, said that there was no truth in the rumours and assured that adequate measures were in place to guarantee safety of life and property in the state. “The JTF wishes to state categorically that the rumours being peddled on the presence of Boko Haram Terrorists Group in Bayelsa is not only false but misleading information capable of causing panic among the good people of Bayelsa. “The closure of schools in Bayelsa is in line with a directive from the National Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Michael Olukoga, directing its members to stay out of classrooms today May 22. “The directive is to protest the killing of their colleagues by Boko Haram terrorists and abduction of over 200 girls of Government Secondary School Chibok in Borno State. “The JTF urges the good people of Bayelsa and general public to go about their normal business without fear as the Command of JTF is working assiduously in collaboration with other security agencies to protect lives and property in the state,” Mr. Anka, a Lieutenant Colonel, said. The official also reacted to the recent explosion at the Port Harcourt refinery and the claim by the Movement of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, that it carried out the attack. “Those masquerading as MEND to perpetrate all kinds of atrocities in the Niger Delta are pipeline vandals and illegal oil bunkerers who in the process of rupturing pipelines caused the outbreak of fire that gutted the NNPC jetty. “They are criminals and renegade militants seeking relevance in the affairs of the Niger Delta, the JTF is on their trail and will soon round them up to face the law,” Mr. Anka said.