The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ex-militant

  • Ex-militant leaders hail NDDC’s project director Adjogbe

    Ex-militant leaders hail NDDC’s project director Adjogbe

    Some ex-agitators in the Niger Delta, under the aegis of National Assembly of Niger Delta Ex-militants, (NANDE), have hailed the commitment and professionalism of the Nsima Ekere-led management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    NANDE’s National Coordinator Edwin Ekpekumemu  spoke for the ex-agitators after a meeting of its leaders and youths in Benin City, Edo State capital.

    Expressing confidence in the management, NANDE lauded the All Progressives Congress-(APC)-led Federal Government for assembling thoroughbred professionals, who place high premium on integrity and best global practice.

    Specifically, it noted that the Executive Director, Project (EDP), Sam Adjogbe, has championed the mantra of due diligence in NDDC, with his zero tolerance for sharp practice.

    NANDE said the tradition of extortion and underhand dealings by youths and other individuals have given way to equity and good conscience as a driving force pioneered by the Urhobo-born engineer.

    Ekpekumemu noted that besides, contracts now go through painstaking professional examination on the basis of merit under the most transparent process.

    Giving kudos once again to President Muhammadu Buhari for giving Niger Deltans hope through this appointment and others, NANDE urged the Federal Government to empower the management to deliver on its mandate.

    Since coming on board, the Ekere-led team has instilled decency in the process of contract award and execution, with Adjogbe as arrowhead.

    But this due process has drawn flak from those who still crave the old order in NDDC.

    NANDE warns disgruntled ex-militants and others, especially Eshanekpe Israel, against distracting the management for their selfish interest and demands.

    “We know the self-acclaimed ex-agitators, whose hallmark is extortion and blackmailing our leaders in the region to do their bidding. This, the EDP is resisting as a man of good conscience, and we implore him to de-emphasise questionable characters, who have no place in this new dispensation of value rebirth in the commission.’’

  • Ex-militant establishes rice farm in Bayelsa

    Ex-militant establishes rice farm in Bayelsa

    An ex-leader of a militant group, Mr Paul Eris, has established a rice farm at Peremabiri in Bayelsa State, to reduce hunger and curb crime.
    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports Eris was formerly known as ‘Ogunboss’ in the creeks when he was a militant.
    He told reporters during a tour of his farm that the initiative was to boost commercial rice production and create jobs for youths.
    Eris said the farming began on February 6 in a 51.5-hectare swampy forest, which had been cleared.
    He hoped the farm called Tanko Farms would increase by 200 hectares in 2018.
    The former militant said the farm had received 300 bags of paddies from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
    According to him, the farm has acquired a rice milling machine, which is serving rice farmers.
    Mr Rowland Kiente, a rice farmer in Peremabiri, told reporters during the tour that the milling machines ensured production of stone-free rice.
    Mr Alagoa Morris of the Environmental Rights Action, Mr David West of the Civil Liberties Organisation and Eberesikimo Gbassa, a rights activist, who also toured the farm, hailed the initiative.
    They hoped it would boost food production and stimulate economic activities.
    They advised the government to support farmers and construct a road from Yenagoa to Peremabiri to encourage Tanko Farms.
    NAN reports Peremabiri is in Southern Ijaw Local Government. It is located on River Nun in Bomo Clan of Southern Ijaw.
    The community is accessible through water transportation from Yenagoa.
    It hosts the abandoned Irrigated Rice Farm Project, established by the then Niger Delta Development Board in 1962.

  • Ex-militant, activist differ on provision of land for grazing

    A former militant leader, Africanus Ukparasia (aka ‘General’ Africa), has faulted a Niger Delta activist, Ms Ankio Briggs, for opposing the 1,200 hectares Bayelsa State government allocated to herdsmen for grazing.

    Governor Seriake Dickson gave out Bayelsa Palm in Yenagoa, the state capital, and directed herdsmen to confine their herd and other related activities within the area.

    But Ms Brigs said the governor’s action would mortgage the future of the Ijaw and make their land a conquered territory.

    In a statement in Yenagoa, the activist noted that since Bayelsa was the identity of the Ijaw, the governor goofed by allocating “very scarce land in Yenagoa to the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world, Fulani herdsmen”.

    She said: “I pray with the Ijaw to get Governor Dickson to reverse this donation of our children and their future to people whose aim is to impose their religion on Christians and take other people’s land by force, murdering, burning and destroying communities.

    “It is amazing that when Governor Dickson should be protecting our people, he is rather exposing the Ijaw to the worst danger in Nigeria.

    “The Ijaw nation will not allow any Ijaw son or daughter to sell the people for political interest and failures. Governor Dickson should not be allowed to sell the Ijaw nation because of his political ambitions. The 1,200 hectares of Bayelsa State is 1,200 hectares of Ijaw nation.

    “I call on community leaders, the owners of the land, Ijaw sons and daughters in the Niger Delta, across Nigeria, also home and abroad to reject the selling of Ijaw nation.

    “The 1,200 hectares is not Governor Dickson’s personal piece of land. Governor Dickson should not be allowed to forget that he won his second tenure election in Bayelsa State because and only because Ijaw people had no desire to give even an inch of Bayelsa to All Progressives Congress (APC).”

    But Africa, who is the chairman of the Bayelsa State Waterways Security Task Force, defended Dickson.

    The ex-militant leader described Ms Briggs’ outburst as unwarranted.

    He said it was mischievous for Ms Brigs to claim Dickson sold part of Ijaw land to herdsmen.

    Africa said the governor only made available the Bayelsa Palm as a confined space for herdsmen to rear their cows, slaughter and sell same.

    He said Dickson took the decision to curtail the herdsmen from moving around the state with their cattle and destroying farmlands.

    According to him, the governor’s action was for the interest of all Bayelsa residents to ensure that “cattle rearers do not go beyond their boundaries”.

    Africa warned Ms Briggs and “her group of jobless social media supporters” to steer clear and desist from meddling in affairs of the state.

    The former warlord said he would resist any further attempt by Ms Briggs and her cohorts to use the social media or any other platform to incite the public against the state government.

    He said: “Governor Dickson’s action was the right step and should be commended by all. Ms Briggs should have contacted the governor directly to seek further clarification on the government’s decision, rather than take to social media to incite the public against the government.

    “Is she saying it is better for the herdsmen to roam our communities and in the process destroy farmlands, which will later result in untold crisis, needless bloodletting and mayhem between the herdsmen and our people?

    “The governor’s decision to use Bayelsa Palm as a consigned space for them to rear their cattle and as a means of regulating the activities of cattle rearers in the state is in the interest of everyone.

    “That was why the government …set up a committee, after due consultation with security agents, to manage the activities of cattle rearers in the state to prevent …what is happening in some states.

    “Fulani herdsmen are even expected to pay taxes to the state government for using that confined space that has been provided.”

    He added: “Ankio Briggs cannot claim to be more Ijaw than Governor Dickson, who is not only a well respected product of the Ijaw struggle but today now stands as the leader of the Ijaw race by virtue of his political leadership and outstanding track records of service to the Ijaw nation.

    “She should rather focus her attention in her home state of Rivers, where Ijaw collective interest and essence is grossly undermined and threatened.

    “The Ijaw in Rivers State have almost lost their voices and place in governance. Yet, Ms Ankio Briggs, instead of confronting the demon in her house, would rather pry in other people’s affairs.

    “Let me also use this opportunity to warn all those who think that they can catch in on Ms Briggs’ reckless and inciting statement to ferment trouble in the state to desist.

    “As one who has spent considerable time in the trenches fighting for our people, I know what it means to secure the peace that we are enjoying in the state today, courtesy of the Bayelsa State government.

    “It has come at a great cost; we will go to whatever length to stop anyone or group who wants to truncate the peace and destabilise the polity just to achieve their selfish aim.”

  • Niger Delta: Boroh, ex-militant leader restate need for peace

    Niger Delta: Boroh, ex-militant leader restate need for peace

    The Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Gen. Paul Boroh (retd), has said only sustained peace will bring expected development in the Niger Delta region.

    Boroh spoke at the weekend when he visited a former militant leader and Chairman of Bayelsa State Waterways Security Task Force (BSWSTF), Africanus Ukparasia, (aka ‘General’ Africa), in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

    He said: “The only way development can come to the Niger Delta region is for the enabling environment to be created first.”

    The presidential aide noted that Africa and other ex-militant leaders, by virtue of their positions, were given key roles to play to sustain the peace in the region.

    He thanked Africa for securing the waterways and oil facilities in Bayelsa with his task force.

    Boroh said the Federal Government had acknowledged the efforts of his outfit.

    The PAP coordinator urged ex-agitators to continue their cooperating with the Amnesty Office, saying he was working hard to ensure the progress of the programme.

    Africa begged the Federal Government to prioritise the development of the Niger Delta region and the welfare of the people to stop any crisis in the region.

    He advised Boroh to ensure timely payment of stipends to ex-militants to reduce tension and crises in the region.

    The ex-militant leader urged the government to address the issues in the Niger Delta early in 2017 to hasten revival of the economy and reduce the hardship in the land.

    Africa, a former commander of the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), is known for working against his kinsman and former President Goodluck Jonathan to support President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

    He was one of the few voices that rose against the nefarious activities of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), while he opposed the bombing of oil and gas pipelines.

  • Ex-militant leader laments pirate attacks in Bayelsa communities

    A former militant leader, Mr. Reuben Wilson, Saturday, raised the alarm over incessant attacks on communities in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Bayels State, particularly Koluama, by suspected sea pirates.

    Wilson, popularly known as Pastor Reuben, said the communities had petitioned security agencies over the attacks to no avail.

    The former creek warlord, who is an indigene of the Koluama clan, said the activities of the marauders crippled fishing, which is the main occupation of the affected communities.

    He said transportation and other commercial activities along the waterways were grossly affected adding that for fear of assaults, community heads were no longer having their regular meetings.

    “The attacks have become unbearable and may result into bloody confrontations between angry youths of affected communities and the sea pirate gangs”, he said.

    Wilson in a statement in Yenagoa, decried the hardship and pains inflicted on the people who constantly come in contact with gun-wielding robbers.

    He said the Pirates most times storm the communities at the fringe of the sea, attacking and dispossessing them of their cash and other valuables.

    He said: “Five boat engines are stolen daily by these hoodlums and they have stopped fishermen from going expedition because of fear of being attacked and killed.

    “The traditional rulers have abandoned their traditional role of deliberating over the affairs of their people for fear of being robbed, kidnapped or killed along the waterways by the sea pirates.”

    He called on security agencies to wade into the matter in the spirits of their constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property.

  • Edo polls: I was not arrested with any arms – Ex-militant

    Edo polls: I was not arrested with any arms – Ex-militant

    An ex-militant, General Pere Ojune, who was reportedly arrested in a hotel in Benin City has said that he was not arrested with any firearms.

    General Pere said he was invited by the police after he was told that his younger brother, Ade, was arrested for being in possession with firearms.

    Pere said he believed that his subsequent detention by the police was because he recently defected to the People’s Democratic Party.

    The ex-militant leader said he is an Ijaw from Ovia South West and not an imported militants from any neighboring states to cause mayhem during the elections.

    He spoke yesterday while being paraded at the Edo State Police Command saying that it was his younger brother.

    His words, “It was on Thursday that I saw my younger brother Ade on handcuff and he told me he was arrested at Upper Sakpoba road that they caught him with one double barrel and one cut to size gun.

    “He said he told the police that I am the only one that can come and rescue him and that was why he brought the police to my place. I had earlier warned them not to be involved in any illegal deal.

    “The police said I must come and see the CP myself. I came here with my car and he asked me how I knew this man and I told them he is my brother. They said I should wait and see the CP that was how they kept me inside the cell till today I have not done anything, I am a repentant militant now working with everybody to ensure peace in our society” he stated.

    Ade on his part said it was one man identified as CSP that promised to give him N10, 000 and a parcel of land that gave him the gun to deliver in a hotel.

    He said he using a bicycle to convey the firearms when the police arrested him and he took them to his elder brother who he believed could free him.

  • Ex-militant urges Tompolo to stay off election

    Ex-militant urges Tompolo to stay off election

    An ex-militant leader in Bayelsa State, Africanus Ukparasia, popularly called Gen. Africa, yesterday warned Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, to steer clear of Bayelsa politics and election.

    He spoke in Yenagoa, alleging that there were reports of plans by Tompolo to interfere in the December 5 poll.

    Africa said intelligence reports at the disposal of ex-militants showed that Tompolo had allegedly prepared a strike squad to attack parts of Bayelsa State.

    He alleged that the squad had been told to hijack election materials and use them to rig for a particular candidate.

    Africa recalled that in the past, Tompolo attacked parts of the state.

    He noted that the ex-militant leader attacked the government jetty in Yenagoa and attempted to head for the Government House to bomb it before the military repelled him and his followers.

    The ex-militant leader said the attack occurred on April 20, 2007.

    He alleged that Tompolo’s foot soldiers attacked and destroyed the home of former President Goodluck Jonathan on May 17, 2007.

    Africa alleged that Tompolo sent some of his boys in the state to disrupt the All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) governorship primary election.

    He said three of the boys were arrested by the Department of State Sevices (DSS) in a hotel in Yenagoa.

    The ex-militant leader cautioned his colleagues in Delta State, saying the purpose of their agitation was not to attack sister-states and communities.

    He said he (Africa) also had the capacity to interfere in Delta State politics, if Tompolo did not desist from such activities.

    Africa warned of the consequences, if Tompolo attempted to attack Bayelsa State before, during and after the governorship election.

    He urged the police, DSS and other security agencies to place Tompolo under security watch.

    Tompolo, who spoke through his media adviser, Paul Bebenimibo, said Africa was talking rubbish.

    Bebenimibo queried Africa’s relationship with the Bayelsa poll, wondering why he should make a wild, unsubstantiated and spurious allegation against his principal, whom he described as a peaceful man.

    He said: “Who is Africa? What are his roles in Bayelsa election? Is he a contestant in the poll? Is he the Federal Government, police, DSS, military or what?

    “Who is he to get a report on Tompolo? As far as we are concerned, we don’t understand what he is saying. He is not making any sense at all.

    “My boss has nothing to do with the Bayelsa election. We don’t know his (Africa’s) relationship with the Bayelsa poll and for such a person to allege that Tompolo is planning to disrupt the election is senseless, unfortunate and unthinkable. The allegation does not make any sense to us.”

  • Dickson meets ex-militant leaders on poll

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson yesterday met ex-militant leaders in Yenagoa to seek their support for a peaceful and violence-free election.

    It was learnt that the governor met them at the First Lady’s Conference Hall, Government House, Yenagoa.

    Over 70 ex-militant leaders from the nine states in the Niger Delta were said to have attended the meeting.

    The Nation gathered that the meeting was convened by Dickson’s Special Adviser on Ijaw National Affairs and Niger Delta Mobilisation, Mr. Seleipre Tonbie.

    It was learnt that the ex-militants, who met the governor under the aegis of the Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development (LPCDI), pledged to support Dickson’s second term ambition.

    A source from the Government House said the meeting was at the instance of the LPCDI leadership, which is led by Pastor Wilson.

    The source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The ex-militant leaders, appreciating what the governor has done, decided to support him. They wrote him a letter requesting a formal meeting with him and the governor’s special adviser, Seleipre Tonbie, facilitated it.

    “Dickson is overwhelmed by the support he is receiving everyday. In the letter, the ex-militant leaders promised to rally support for his re-election. They said the governor has good intentions to develop the state.

    “The ex-militants asked the governor to build their group into his campaign team for mass mobilisation.”

    The source said the governor at the meeting thanked the ex-militant leaders for their support.

  • Ex-militant denies feud with Sylva

    Ex-militant denies feud with Sylva

    Ex-militant leader General Africa has said reports about a quarrel between him and the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, are fabricated. Africa accused the rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate for the December 5 governorship election Governor Seriake Dickson, of sponsoring the “fictitious and malicious story”.

    He said the story was a futile attempt by PDP to score cheap points ahead of the poll.

    A statement in Abuja by Africa said: “My attention has been drawn to a story being circulated in the media by the Peoples Democratic Party to the effect that I was involved in an altercation or fracas with my party leader and All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva. The story is fictitious and malicious. At no time did such an incident happen between the APC leader and me or between him any other member of APC.

    “Chief Sylva is the APC leader and my leader, and he has the complete loyalty and support of the entire APC family in Bayelsa State. I have no reason to disrespect him or doubt his leadership of our great party. Neither does our chairman, Chief Tiwe Oruminigbe, whose name was also used in the lie circulated by PDP in their desperation to ridicule APC and try to score cheap political points.

    “The attempt to sponsor negative rumours about our governorship candidate, Chief Sylva, is, to all intents and purposes, the only campaign message and strategy of PDP and its jittery candidate, Hon. Seriake Dickson. But it is a huge joke that cannot save the drowning governor and his party from a crushing defeat on December 5. The distractive pursuit by PDP will never succeed in dividing APC in Bayelsa State or distracting its attention from the goal of rescuing Bayelsa from PDP’s regime of deception.”

  • Amnesty deadline not feasible, say ex-militant leaders

    Former militant leaders in the six Niger Delta states have said the December deadline for the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) is not feasible.

    Rising from their meeting in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, the former creek commanders urged President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the programme beyond this year.

    The former militants, who met under the auspices of the Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative (LPCDI), hailed the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and PAP Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh, for performing well.

    According to them, the proposed timeline was not feasible because of non-payment of outstanding allowances and unfulfilled promises by the Federal Government.

    LPCDI’s National President Reuben Wilson (aka General Pastor) said the government should pay outstanding fees of amnesty students in foreign institutions before terminating the programme.

    In a statement after the meeting, Wilson said: “The Federal Government should release timeously the allocations to the Presidential Amnesty Office in order to pay the beneficiaries their monthly stipends on time. The PAP should be extended beyond December 2015 as earlier envisaged as the expiry date.

    “The incentives promised the ‘ex-Generals’ and leaders of the various militant camps by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in the form of lifeline, security, accommodation and mobility be fulfilled with immediate effect.

    “The Federal Government should pay, with immediate effect, the three-month outstanding payments for the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to the ex-agitators by the immediate past administration.

    “The Federal Government should also reconsider its termination of the pipeline surveillance contract and re-award same to the ex-agitators for proper and effective security of the pipelines. The Federal Government should expand the PAP to include Niger Delta youths in the creeks, who are currently not included in the programme.”

    The spokesman re-affirmed the confidence of the ex-agitators in the leadership of Brig.-Gen. Boroh.

    He said: “We believe and stand by him that he has the requisite experience and a robust knowledge to effectively pilot the affairs of the Amnesty Office, if given the necessary support and assistance by the Federal Government.

    “The PAP was initiated by the Yar’Adua administration to alleviate the plight of the Niger Delta people. It was designed to reach out to the people as compensation for their devastated environment and loss of livelihood due to oil exploration and exploitation activities…”