Warri - There is tension in Delta State following the presence of military personnel inside four host communities to Shell Petroleum Development Company, (SPDC), operational base at Forcados, Warri South West Local Government Area of the state.

The four communities which comprise of Agge, Ogulagha, Izon-Burutu and Agoro, have expressed fears over the build up of arms by the military in their communities, indicting the men and officers of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta, code-named Operation Restore Hope,” headed by Brig. Gen Wuyep Rimtip.

They have alleged the involvement of the Task Force in illegal bunkering activities in their communities, as soldiers were seen at midnight off-loading products from
barges seized from bunkerers into vessels and moving out to unknown destinations.

Speaking to newsmen in Warri, Chief Zion Perebowei, under the auspices of “Concerned Indigenes Against Forcados Settlements , said they could no longer continue to fold their arms and allow the occupation of their homeland by soldiers in the name of maintaining law and order.

He stated that their worries were further compounded by the fact that their women and children now live in fear on daily basis, because of soldiers who had taken over strategic positions in their communities.

Chief Perebowei who demanded to know the rationale behind the continuous deployment of troops to their communities by the military authorities, stated that the unprecedented arm build-up in their area had affected the psyche of their kinsmen who now feel insecure in their homes.