Soldiers have arrested Simon Bebenimibo and Bomboy Oluwa, two suspected associates of ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, in Warri, Delta State.

A dependable source said that two of them, including a member of Delta Waterways and Land Security Committee, DWLSC and ex-councilor were seized by soldiers on Monday night.

The source, who confirmed the arrest, said they were taken to the military barracks in Effurun.

Spokesperson of the Ijaw People Development Initiative, IPDI, Daniel Ezekiel, has criticised the military for allegedly breaking into the residence of ‎the DWLSC member through the roof and arresting him without a court warrant.

He said, “We condemn the military action of breaking through the roof of Simeon Bebenimibo to gain unauthorized access into his privacy without a court warrant to arrest him, as such amount to kidnapping and abduction.”

” This is barbaric, obnoxious, unlawful and incivility. The military has no such powers except empowered by a valid court warrant. It is so sad and we are disappointed.

“However, lawlessness has become a household maater in every sphere of Nigeria life. Will you blame the layman if the military as the highest institution of defence could condescend so low to indulge in a serious crime of breaking and entry just to get a suspect arrested?

“It is very disappointing and it is our candid demand that those military officers, who conducted themselves as kidnappers should be court marshaled, they are a disgrace to the military force and Nigeria state,” the group said.

IPDI added, ” Honorable Simon Bebenimibo, who hail from Gbaramatu Kingdom, a member of Delta State Waterways and and Land Security Committee was invaded at his home in Warri by a combined force of Nigerian military around 12.05 am on Monday in three trucks in a commando fashion as if they were going to war.”

It asserted: “In the process, they subjected his entire household among them his little kid of five years old to a traumatic experience.”

“The most pathetic part of this show of shame was that the military men had to enter his house through the roof with a help of ladder. One wonders the basis for such invasion. Even If there is any security report from rival politicians to implicate him, ‎ should security men in President Muhammadu Buhari conduct themselves as thugs and hoodlums in Niger Delta,” IPDI queried.

The group stated, “It is a shame that military has turned into personal property of APC stalwarts to settle local political scores. It is not a secret that Honorable Simon Bebenimibo is a Niger Delta activist of reputable class, who never blinked eyes in championing the cause of Ijaw and Niger Deltan in general.”

“It is so bad that he has become a target of Nigeria state agents, who knows who is the next target. Being a man well known from Gbaramatu axis and who has always championed his struggle nonviolently, we expect security agents, to invite him, which we know as a gentle man that he is, he would have honored,” the group said.

IPDI continued, “They also arrested Bomboy Oluba and whisked him away in the same commando style as reasons of both arrest remain undisclosed. The military should follow their rules of engagement and stop resorting to the modus operandi of kidnappers and political thugs in engaging issues of national importance.”

The group stated: “Those who are bent to implicate alleged Tompolo friends and associates to gain political relevance, contracts and political appointment should have a rethink.”