The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ex-militant leaders

  • Ex-militants hail FG for ensuring peace in Niger Delta

    Ex-militants hail FG for ensuring peace in Niger Delta

    …Warn against clamour for Boroh’s removal

    Ex-militant leaders, drawn from nine states of the Niger Delta region, Friday, commended the Federal Government for ensuring sustained peace in the region.

    The ex-agitators said they were happy that the government took the right steps including increasing the budgetary allocation to the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) by N30bn to stop violent agitations in the region.

    They noted that the peace deal had resulted in government’s increased attention to the region and the training and employment of over 200 youths under the PAP.

    The ex-militants under the aegis of the Niger Delta Concerned Ex-agitators (NDCE),‎ in a statement issued in Yenagoa and signed by their Secretary, Perewari Johnson, asked all stakeholders to support the government.

    They also appealed to the people of the region to cooperate with the Coordinator of PAP, Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh (retd) to move the Niger Delta to the desired destination.

    They said: “We call for the peace in the region and we urge all stakeholders to support the Presidential amnesty programme under the leadership of Brig.-Gen.  Paul Boroh and the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government.

    “We have confidence in the ability of the coordinator of the amnesty programme as he has been very meticulous in implementing the programme for the benefit of all former agitators and the region at large in the past two years which has translated to lasting peace in the region.

    “Only in the month of June over 2000 former agitators from the region have commenced training in farming technology at the college of Agriculture at Iguoriakhi in Edo state and over 200 have been enrolled for an all-inclusive sports programme which will keep our youth gainfully engaged.

    “And also over 1,000 youth are currently undergoing various skill acquisition training programmes in Bayelsa State.”

    The ex-agitators further commended the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for signing the 2017 budget and urged him to do more for the region.

    ‎They, however, warned against alleged planned protest against the amnesty office by some sponsored ex-militants.

    “We condemn any form of protest that some persons are planning to embark upon against the Boroh-led Amnesty programme.

    “We urge all well-meaning stakeholders and citizens not to allow people with selfish interest to use them against their fellow Niger-Delta son who has done so well.

    “Anybody clamoring for the removal of Paul Boroh is an enemy of the development of  people in the region.

    “They are only antagonizing Boroh’s regime in the amnesty office because unlike his predecessors he has refused to succumb to their demand to award contract that will not be executed and to share monies made for the empowerment and human capacity development of the Niger Delta region.

    They call on security agencies to stop the planned protest in the interest of the peace in the region.

  • Edo 2016: Police arrest ex- militant leaders with arms

    Edo 2016: Police arrest ex- militant leaders with arms

    …To be arraign in court on Wednesday

     

    Edo state Police command has arrested three Ex- Militant Leaders around Benin-city with two AK47.

    The three Ex- Militant leaders are currently cooling their heads at the state criminal investigation department inside the state Police headquarters and they will be Arraign in Court on Wednesday.

    Leader of group, Gen. Peres Ejuni from Ofunama, decamped to People’s Democratic Party last week Thursday at home ville hotel, Benin.

    The Police, Department of state Security services and the Edo state Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has earlier raised issues of Security concern and importation of Militants into the state.

    Speaking to journalists Monday in Benin, the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney general of Edo state, Barrister Henry Idahagbon on the rumor that the Militants were arrested in his hotel on Friday, he said the purpose of this fabrication is to obfuscate the arrest of one their imported ‘Generals’ Gen. Peres Ejuni who was arrested with two Ak47 assault Rifles and is currently with the police.

    Idahagbon said all efforts made by the PDP candidate; Pastor Osagie Ize-iyamu and his godfather, Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion to get the general released from custody have proved abortive.

    The state Attorney general said the police have remained resolute and ready to arraign him before the court on Wednesday.

    “My attention was drawn through innumerable calls to a mischievous publication on the Facebook page of one Ogbeide Ifaluyi Isibor to the effect that the DSS arrested 61 militants in my motel. Some days ago the same fellow also caused to be published that I was buying PVCs within the premises of the ministry of Justice.

    “The PDP having failed woefully to persuade Edo people to return to Egypt has resorted to spinning false stories and marketing same online. We are daily been assailed by different fabricated stories. If the deputy governor wasn’t engaged in a shouting match with the governor, the commissioner for information, Hon Kassim Afegbua will be endorsing one of their two candidates.

    “For the avoidance, the story is false and a figment of the warped imagination of the writer, no amount of false propaganda against my person or other members of the APC will stop the impending annihilation of the party in Edo state and the reduction to tunnels of the over bloated political ego of their candidate.”

    Contact to the state police command in Benin confirmed the arrest.

     

  • Ex-militant leaders support govt’s action in Niger Delta

    Former militant leaders yesterday threw their weight behind the approach adopted by the Federal Government and the military to tackle the crisis in the Niger Delta.

    The former commanders of the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), also declared total support for the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Gen. Paul Boroh (retd).

    Rising from their meeting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, under the auspices of the Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative (LPCDI), the ex-agitators, commended Lt. Gen. Tukur Burutai, for decimating the Boko Haram insurgents in the north.

    The group in a statement issued after the meeting and signed by its National President, Mr. Reuben Wilson, popularly known in the creeks as Pastor Reuben, and Secretary, Mr. Nature Kieghe, said the government and the military had demonstrated maturity in dealing with issues in the region.

    The group said: “It is also very important here to commend the efforts of our military, under the leadership of the Lt. Gen. Tukur Burutai.

    “We must say he has gallantly piloted the affairs of the military and this is evident in the way and, manner they have decimated the Boko Haram group in the north and also in the way the military is handling the issues in the Niger Delta region”.

    The LPCDI also condemned the pipeline bombings in Delta and Bayelsa state and appealed to persons behind them to embrace peace.

    “We advise all concerned to stop such dastardly act as it will only bring the region back to its dark days and ultimately hinder any form of development in the area.”

     

     

    “We call on all our Niger Delta brothers and sisters to be more patient with the President as he needs more time to carry out his positive developments for the region. Like we all know, this can only be achieved in an environment of peace.

    “We hereby encourage all to embrace peace as it is the most important ingredient for sustainable development”.

    The ex-militant leaders, however, pleaded with the Presidency to critically look into issues of late payment of monthly stipends of the amnesty beneficiaries.

    The group said the delay in the payment of the stipends was working against the efforts of its members to maintain the peace.

    The group said: “Furthermore we will like to commend the President of the Federal republic of Nigeria, Mohammadu Buhari, for extending the Amnesty programme.

    “And we are also appealing that the date be extended to 2019 to give enough time for the beneficiaries of the program studying abroad to conclude their various educational programs.

    “This will also make time for those who are yet to undergo their various skill acquisition trainings to commence and conclude before the expiration of the programme.

    “We are also pleading with His Excellency to extend an olive branch to some of our brothers who are still in the creeks and are willing to embrace the program.”

    Pledging their support to Boroh, the ex-militant leaders described him as a selfless man who had piloted the affairs of the region without fear or favour within a short period.

    The group added: “We are here to also declare our total support for him. Many of our leaders, particularly one of our own, Victor Ebikabowei Ben popularly known as Field Marshal Boyloaf, have stood firmly by the appointment of Boroh.

    “The entire leaders under the Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative (LPCDI) with its nine cordinators representing leaders from the nine Niger Delta states are strongly in support of him.

    “This is because in such a little time he has piloted the affairs of the programme without fear or favour. And we believe that given the right atmosphere and time he will direct the programme to the benefit of all and for the achievement of the development and lasting peace in the Niger Delta region.

    “Just recently, the Amnesty Programme, under the leadership of Paul Boroh, has partnered with the Bio-Resource Center in Odi, to train 100 ExAgitators on Agriculture. This is indeed a step in the right direction with the new trend of diversification of the economy.

    “We are therefore appealing to all those greedy and selfish politicians to please hands-off that office and allow Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh to continue with the good and selfless work he is doing as Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.”

  • Police summon ex-militant leaders over Southern Ijaw poll

    Police summon ex-militant leaders over Southern Ijaw poll

    The Bayelsa State Police Command has   summoned ex-militant leaders and supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to a meeting tomorrow in Yenagoa ahead of Saturday’s  rerun governorship election in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state and a few other polling units.

    The invitation is already generating tension in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) whose supporters are left out of the planned meeting   .

    The police in a copy of the invitation letter dated December 31, 2015 and sent to one of the ex-militant leaders, Eris Paul, popularly known as Ogunboss, asked the former agitators to appear on January 4.

    The meeting was summoned by the police command through the office of the State Intelligence Bureau led by one Deputy Superitendent of Police (DSP), Ondo Gbekumo,

    The letter says attendance to the meeting is compulsory.

    It said: “ The attendance to the meeting by ex-militant leaders is mandatory as issues bothering on threat to security on the January 9th election will be discussed.”

    Also invited to the meeting is General Africa who openly  supported President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 Presidential election.

    But the summoned ex-militant leaders accused the state police command of bias toward the PDP.

    They called for the overhaul of the present structure of the state police claiming that  the state police command as currently constituted lacks the discipline to ensure a free and fair election in Southern Ijaw.

    They alleged that Gbekumo who signed the invitation letter is an apologist and relation of the PDP candidate and Governor of the State, Mr. Seriake Dickson.

    Ogunbos said: “When did we become members of the state security agencies to be invited to security meeting? Nothing annoys me so much as receiving the invitation from a relative of Governor Seriake,Ondo Gbekumo.”

    The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Astimin Butswat, confirmed that the ex-militant leaders were formally invited as stakeholders to contribute to a violence-free election in the Council.

    “ We have invited them for discussions. We are exploring every medium available to ensure a hitch free election,” he said.

     

  • Ex-militant leaders, police clash over oil pipeline contracts

    •Alegations not true, says gov’s ally

    The recently approved  waterways security and oil pipelines protection contracts  for ex-Niger-Delta war lords by President Goodluck Jonathan  has sparked a row between the ex-militants and Governor Dickson Seriake.

    The  former war lords are accusing the governor of  meddling in the pipeline surveillance contracts, and yesterday took to the streets of Yenagoa,the State capital, to protest the alleged meddling.

    Led by by a former commander of the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND),  Eris Paul, popularly known as Ogunboss,the protests  stormed the streets as early as 6am  and took over  the Tombia roundabout area of the road, chanting war songs.

    A detachment of armed policemen raced to the spot and pushed to disperse the protesters.

    The ex-militants resisted the police action>Some of them allegedly shot at the policemen.

    What followed were  warning shots and firing of tear gas canisters.

    The protesters responded by hauling stones at the police and their vehicles.Some of the vehicles were vandalized in the process.

    Both sides  soon got locked in  a hit and run encounter with the policemen beating the protesters with batons and gun butts.

    The drama sparked a traffic gridlock and panic in adjoining roads.

    Several private  and shops were also vandalized  in the  melee .

    As the clash rage ,motorists and commuters  fled the scene  to avoid being hit by stray bullets.

    The clash later subsided.No fewer than 20 police patrol vans were sighted at the scene last night.

    An unconfirmed report said an ex-militant was killed and eight others injured in the fracas .

    Some of the protesters were said to have been arrested and taken to the headquarters of the police command in the state.

    Armed policemen  frisked  pedestrians  who passed by the area last night.

    Speaking on the protest, the National Chairman, 6166 Presidential Amnesty Phase II, ‘General’ Aso Tambo, blamed the development onGovernor  Dickson.

    He said the ex-militants were angry with the governor for allegedly encroaching on the pipeline security contract awarded to them by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

    He said:”Other states like Delta, Edo, Cross River, Rivers and Akwa Ibom are also involved because they have ex-militants like us. The governors  of these states did not encroach into these contracts.

    “In the case of Bayelsa, we don’t know why the governor wants to share the security contracts with the ex-militant leaders. He wants to take 50 per cent while the ex-militants will be given 50 per cent.

    “As at the time this contract was awarded, Dickson was not even a governor. These contracts were awarded as a result of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) we signed  with the federal government that if we accepted  the amnesty offer, pipeline security jobs would  be given to us. That was why the jobs were given to us.”

    He added: “If the governor has people he wants to empower, the state has many resources through internally generated revenues and statutory allocations. Bayelsa is a room and parlour state.

    “We are even surprised that the state till tomorrow has not been developing  our state with all the trillions accruing to  the state. The governor should not interfere in  our contracts.

    “If he does so, we will continue to keep him restless. We will continue to suffocate him until the next  election and we will definitely not give him any room to come back.”

    Also speaking, Ogunboss, said  the angry ex-militants were against plot by Dickson to hijack their contracts.

    He said:”Apart from the show of incompetence by the present administration, Dickson is trying to hijack the job meant for the oil-bearing communities in the state.’’

    “Most of the Southsouth states have signed the allocation of the surveillance contract but Dickson is insisting that the job be awarded to a self-styled company known as Izon Ibe, a security outfit that we don’t know.

    “Dickson should concentrate on the use of state allocation and internally generated revenue to advance the good of the State rather than hijacking jobs coming to communities.”

    CA government House source  dismissed the  ex-militants’ allegations  as “parochial”.

    The  Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Asinim Buswatt, said the police did not clash with the ex-militants.

    He said the police only employed civil means to disperse the protesters adding that nobody died during the protest.

    “The police only shot tear gas canisters to disperse them.The police did not shoot live cartridges”, he said.

  • Ex-militant leaders threaten showdown

    Ex-militant leaders have issued a one-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to release funds for their monthly stipends.

    They said at the expiration of the ultimatum tomorrow, the Federal Government should be held responsible for any eventuality.

    The repentant militants said they had not been paid their N65,000 monthly stipend, since the beginning of the year.

    The leader of the Leadership Forum for Peace in the Niger Delta, “General” Reuben Wilson, after a meeting yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, told reporters that the members of the National Assembly were frustrating the efforts of the Amnesty Office.

    He asked the lawmakers to expedite action to release funds to the ex-warlords and take issues concerning the welfare of ex-militants in the Niger Delta seriously.

    Wilson said: “Since appropriations are done by the National Assembly, it is necessary for the lawmakers to carry out their functions and ensure that our monthly stipends are paid without further delay. Some former militants may react adversely, if they are not paid by tomorrow.

    “The former militants at the meeting came from all parts of the Niger Delta and they all expressed anger with the Federal Government over the non-payment of their paltry allowances.”

    The leader of the aggrieved former freedom fighters also declared that they were not happy with the N65,000 stipend, describing it as unfair, considering that the leaders were being paid the same amount of money as their followers.