Chief Ayebatari Easterday of Igbomotoru, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, has appealed to the military to protect innocent residents as they search for masterminds behind the killing of 16 soldiers in Okuama, Delta State.
Easterday made this appeal in an interview with newsmen in Yenagoa on Tuesday.
He spoke against the backdrop of the ongoing military crackdown on speculated hideouts of the suspects who perpetrated the crime in Delta, now alleged to have fled to Bayelsa.
Easterday, a former councillor that represented the community in the LGA, called on security agents to always carry out in-depth investigations before taking actions capable of affecting innocent lives.
According to him, some people had been killed in the community by aggrieved soldiers in search of the militants who allegedly spearheaded the attack on the soldiers.
He said that economic activities in Igbomotoru, a coastline community along the bank of the River Nun, have reduced due to the activities of the military.
Some of the youths in the society, he said, had fled to neighbouring communities.
Similarly, a former member of the House of Representatives, Henry Daniel-Ofongo, and member representing Igbomotoru in Southern Ijaw LGA Caretaker Committee, Solomon Suobo, unanimously called for caution.
They urged the military to abide by the rule of engagement guiding their operations.
The soldiers, they said, should conduct themselves in a manner that would not make the innocent to continue to bear the brunt of evil acts committed by others.