KOKORI: Governor Uduaghan vows to flush out criminals from Delta ….urges citizens to go about their normal business

By Francis Sadhere

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has assured Deltans that his administration was going to flush out all criminal elements in the state, saying that the state government was combat ready to curtail the activities of criminals.

The Delta State governor made this statement in a press briefing with newsmen at Government House, Annex, Warri.

Governor Uduaghan confirmed to newsmen that the notorious kidnap king pin, Kelvin Prosper Oniara, has been arrested and that they have also arrested some of his boys in Kokori who wanted to react to his arrest.

He said; “All of us are aware of Kelvin issue. Himself and his group have been deeply involved in several kidnapping and armed robbery operations not just in Delta state but virtually across Nigeria. He has been involved in some high and some not too high kidnapping. For several months now we have put up strategies to ensure his arrest but they did not yield any results until yesterday morning.”

Also arrested was one juju priest, Mr. Micheal Omonigho who is said to had been providing charms for Kelvin and his gangs.

The Governor expressed worries over the strong support Kelvin had from members of his community, expressing surprise at the way women in the community were dancing in support of the criminals as shown in photos that were released to the press.

He said it was worrisome to see mothers dancing and singing the praises of their children who were criminals, adding that if not that the military men were civil in their approach to the situation, more casualties would had been recorded.

“We must say with a lot of sadness, and that has always been our position, that he had strong support from people of Kokori community which he displayed at the time he sent out his propaganda pictures. And from interrogation so far we believe that certain persons in that community have questions to answer. And whether you are in the community or outside the community, if we have any reasons to ask you questions the security agents will do their work,” he added.

The Governor added that security measures had been put in place to ensure the safety of lives and property especially in Kokori and other parts of the state.

He advised citizens to be very careful in moving around and stay at home, especially within the Kokori axis and its vicinities, warning there will be no movement within Kokori after six pm.

He also advised the media to reduce sensationalism, noting that these were trying times for the state.

The Governor assured oil workers in the state to go about their normal businesses and ignore threats by the group as their safety was very paramount to the state government, adding that the state government was going to give them full protection.