By Ibanga Isine, Port Harcourt
Published: Tuesday, 17 Jul 2007

The leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante, Mr. Ateke Tom, and the President of Wakirike United Peace Guide,Mr. Theophelus Fubara, gave the warning in Okochiri in Okirika Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Fubara is also the leader of the Green Landers, a militant group in Rivers State.

Having turned a new leaf, the duo vowed that nothing would make them go back to their past lives of violence, fighting and bloodshed.

They also attributed many of the violent attacks that took place in Port Harcourt and its environs to the activities of cult and militant groups that had their bases in Okirika.

Tom said, “We will not fight again. We will not use arms again. We have accepted peace. So let the kidnapping of people stop in the Niger Delta.

“Our members will no longer be involved in violence. Those who are engaged in the kidnapping of people should stop it.”

But Fubara said that as long as God is alive, the peace that had returned to Okirika and Rivers State would last.

He lamented that for over eight years, the government had employed divide and rule tactics to fuel violent crisis in many parts of the state, some of which led to loss of lives and property.