By FEMI IPAYE
Led by Chief Onimim Batubo, Chairman Ijaw Youth Council, Abuja Chapter, Ebizimor Preye, Ijaw community in Abuja on Wednesday celebrates the golden annivessary of the passage of Boro 50 years after his demise. Boro, who first declared the Republic of the Niger Delta in 1966 on his 12 days revolution against the Nigeria state was born on September 10, 1938. He believed that the people of the region deserved a larger share of proceeds of the oil wealth, and this prompted his decision to form the Niger Delta Volunteer Force, an armed militia with members consisting mainly of his fellow Ijaw ethnic group. The administration of General Yakubu Gowon granted him amnesty on the eve of the Nigerian civil war in May 1967, and later enlisted and was commissioned as a major in the Nigerian army. He fought on the side of the Federal Government but was killed under mysterious circumstances in active service on May 9, 1968 at Ogu (near Okrika) in Rivers State. See more photos from the celebration below
