Celebrated journalist and Chairman, Ovation Media Group, Chief Dele Momodu, has said that his journey for Oyigbo, Rivers State, was purely on peace mission, not investigative.
Momodu said this as a response to a cross section of Nigerians, who had a different opinion.
In a statement he personally signed, and made available to The Boss, Momodu went down memory lane, itemising the basic facts that ignited the historic visit.
Below is his statement:
“I had been inundated with messages by many concerned viewers on my Instagram and Facebook live sessions asking me to intervene and help stop “the ongoing genocide” in Oyigbo, Rivers State. My guest, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was the first to speak passionately about Oyigbo accusing Rivers State Governor of ordering the killings.
“Thereafter, by popular demand, I was asked to get Governor Nyesom Wike on my chat session, which he obliged.
The interview with Governor Wike was comprehensive and covered his developmental projects to which he invited us to see things for ourselves. We accepted his challenge and our team went to Rivers State.
“While in Rivers, I received strident calls asking me to visit Oyigbo. I spoke to the Governor and he said I was free to visit any part of Rivers. He had earlier spoken about his intervention in Oyigbo after some soldiers and police were killed in Oyigbo and the reprisal attacks that followed. The Governor was accused of ordering the military offensive which he vehemently denied. He said all he did was impose a curfew as a responsible leader in order to reduce and end the carnage. He alleged that members of IPOB wanted to turn a part of Rivers into a theater of war and bloodshed, a move he was determined to resist.
“I was anxious to travel to the scene and visit different places and people. I was on a peace mission and was not in any way to take sides but present the different views expressed by the locals.
“I met the Chiefs, Local Govt officials, security forces, market people and was relieved that life was returning and no more killings. I expressed my condolences on the lost lives, on both sides. I did a live broadcast during the visit. I also published my observations in my PENDULUM column last Saturday, November 21, 2020.
CHIEF DELE MOMODU