Ondo ex-militants fault government’s amnesty programme, threaten to return to creeks

macfranc007 February 08, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Nurudeen Lawal

- Ex-militants in Ondo state who recently surrendered and embraced the state’s amnesty programme have threatened that they may return to the creeks

- The ex-militants claimed that the state government has abandoned them and failed to fulfil its promise to them when they embraced amnesty

- They faulted the amnesty programme, saying that it is politicised and not all-embracing

Aggrieved militants at Arogbo in Ese-Odo local government area of Ondo state, who embraced the amnesty programme and surrendered their arms to the state government, have threatened to return to the creeks if they state government does not fulfil its promise.

The militants made this known in a statement on Wednesday, February 7, the Nation reports.

Leaders of the 15 ex-militant camps, ‘Generals’ Bowei Felix (Kakaduku 1 of Niger Delta) of Seimo Osain camp, Mefun Duba (Binimobiyomo camp), Pemi Sylvester (Dragon camp), David Eddy (Amafinibai camp), Soriwei Raphael (D. Devil made me to do it camp) and 10 others, regretted that since submitting their arms last November, the government had abandoned them.

NAIJ.com gathered that the groups surrendered their weapons to the amnesty committee, headed by the Ondo state deputy governor, Agboola Ajayi, at Arogbo Centre in the local government.

The ex-militants said in the statement: “We have been totally short-changed, marginalised and abandoned, while slots were given to their political allies.

“We make bold to state that the whole programme has been politicised, as the 1,000 they claim was approved for Ondo state, apart from the fact that they were grossly insufficient, the distribution was inequitable as about 97% of the camps were not given a slot.

“This is rather unwarranted, uncalled for and condemnable in its entirety."

The ex-militants insisted that the amnesty programme should be all-encompassing.

They threatened that they may return to their militancy if the government fails to listen to them.

“We are fed up with the present situation. We will likely go back to the creeks, after retrieving our guns, if nothing is done to end our sufferings.

“Gen Bowei Felix, other Generals with their boys in their various camps spend a minimum of N10 million every month on feeding and other upkeep before submitting their arms.

“Federal and state governments should urgently address this critical situation and handle it with caution to avoid a breach of peace, unrest and avoidable restiveness in the region,” the statement added.

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NAIJ.com previously reported that ex-militants from Edo, Rivers, Bayelsa, Ondo and Delta states kicked against alleged plot by few unknown individual to remove head of onshore education unit, office of the amnesty programme, Major Hassan Kesiena Mowarin (rtd).

The ex-militants said that there have been improvement in the scheme since Mowarin assumed office, noting that his appointment showed that the ruling party meant well for the people of the Niger Delta region.

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