20101206
This Day

President Goodluck Jonathan has directed the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta to ensure the protection of the civilian populace in their areas of operation.

Jonathan who spoke through his Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ima Niboro expressed his sympathy to the traumatised communities as well as those displaced in the by the operations.

The directive which is coming on the heels of the raid on camps suspected to be the operational base of John Togo, a militant on a running battle with the JTF which has led to the displacement of civilians in some villages in the region.

Niboro who spoke with State House Correspondents commended the operational style of JTF who he asked to ensure that those who have nothing to do with the hoodlums they were pursuing were well treated.

Niboro who asked the Army to assist living in their operational bases said, "The army also has a responsibility to protect the civil populace."

He further pledged to assist those already affected in the operations and appealed to them to be calm in the face of the efforts to sanitise their areas.