The Nigeria Police has confirmed that former Niger Delta militant leader and politician, High Chief Sobomabo Jackrich, popularly known as Egberipapa, has been arrested.
Egberipapa was one of the militant leaders in the oil-rich Niger Delta region that accepted the Presidential Amnesty Programme of President Musa Yar’Adua in 2009.
Nyesom WIke, as Governor of Rivers State, appointed Egberipapa as caretaker committee chairman of Asari Toru Local Government Area. In the 2023 general elections, he was the Governorship candidate of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).
SP Iringe-Koko, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Rivers State, who confirmed the arrest of the militant leader, said: “He is with some security personnel. That is all I can say for now.”
But the Media aide to the ex-militant leader, Soibibo Sokari, said that two of Egberipapa’s loyalists were killed during the faceoff and resistance to the arrest by his bodyguards at his residence at his Usokun country-home in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
According to Sokari: “Yes, it is true he was arrested this (Monday) morning. Two persons were killed and their bodies carted away along with him. We are still following up the incident to get more details.
“We don’t know exactly who is behind it. But as the details unfold, we will let the public know about it.”
An eyewitness said that Egberipapa was arrested in the early hours of Monday (about 3.am) by men in military uniform who conducted the operation with Nigerian Army branded vehicles including an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC).
Expectedly, the arrest sparked tension in the community.
