WARRI - THE Joint Task Force, JTF, on the Niger Delta Monday, demanded to see the ‘corpse’ of militant leader , John Togo, for it to believe he was truly dead as reported by the media.
Meanwhile, JTF, which said it doubted John Togo’s alleged death, has intensified its siege on some riverine communities and suspected hideouts of the Niger Delta Liberation Force, NDLF, Togo's militant group, which was allegedly disbanded, May 14, in line with his instruction to his aides on his death bed.
Meanwhile, Togo's nephew, residing in Benin City, Edo State, was allegedly arrested in the crack-down by the task force at Okwagbe on Monday. With the arrest, it was gathered that Togo's wife and children had gone into hiding.
Spokesman of the task force, Lt. Col. T.A. Antigha who was contacted by Vanguard on the latest development following an exclusive report by Sunday Vanguard on the demise of Togo, maintained that JTF was had to believe that the controversial militant leade had died.
He stressed that was not aware Togo's nephew’s arrest, adding that "JTF has heard several rumours surrounding Togo's death but to say that somebody is dead, one has to prove it".
It was reported that Togo's two legs were shattered in a bombardment by soldiers with jet fighters on his camp, May 12, and that he died at a riverine community in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, two days after he was rushed to the house of a traditional doctor for treatment.
He was reportedly buried at an unknown place on the outskirts of the town by his boys.
Antigha explained to Vanguard that JTF does not rely on hearsay and since Togo did not die in its custody, and it was not aware that he died in exchange of gunfire with the task force, the reasonable thing was to see the remains before making any conclusion.
According to him, JTF had made it clear before that John Togo and his managers could have possibly sold a dummy so that the search for him would be discontinued while he continued to live his life
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