With a monthly allowance of N65,000 for each of the envisaged 10,000 militants that would embrace the Federal Government’s amnesty offer, over N27.3 billion may be spent on stipends alone over the 42-month period during which they would be trained and rehabilitated in several camps.
The amount could be higher if the estimate of 15,000 militants is achieved. This is nearly three times the N10.14 billion earmarked for the exercise as amnesty programme moves to the phase of reintegrating repentant Niger Delta militants into the society.
But for militants that failed to embrace the amnesty offer, the Federal Government will order a military attack on their strongholds to flush them out, just as investigations will be launched into the sources and sponsors of militancy in the Niger Delta region.
Over 8,299 militants have been logged as having signed up to the peace deal ahead of the October 4 deadline for which N10.14 billion was earmarked for the payment of their allowances for the duration of the amnesty and rehabilitation programme. Each of them will receive N65,000 monthly while undergoing training in preparation for reintegration into the society.
Lucky Ararile, coordinator of the Federal Government Inter Agency Coordinating Committee on Amnesty, said in a press briefing yesterday in Abuja that all the militants who failed to embrace the amnesty offer as at Sunday, October 4, 2009 would have no option than to face the wrath of the law.
Giving details of the arms recovered so far, Ararile said that items surrendered included 287,445 different types of ammunition, 2,760 assorted arms, 18 gunboats, 763 dynamites, 1,090 dynamite caps and 3,155 magazines. However, the figures on surrendered arms and the militants that dropped their weapons are provisional as inventory is still being taken. He said that other accessories given up included a bullet proof jacket, RPG chargers, walkie talkies, dynamite cables, knives, cartridges and AK 47 bayonets.
“The security agencies will be interested to know the sources of these arms so as to counter it and prevent future occurrence,” said of the large cache of arms, adding that any military personnel fingered in supplying arms to the militants would be dealt with accordingly. “The issue of identifying the sponsors of militancy activities in the Niger Delta is beyond my committee. This will be handled by government and other security agencies that have the responsibility to do so. Our mandate is not to go after the godfathers, it is the job of other security agencies and I know they will do it.”
The coordinator noted that relevant security agencies have been fully mobilized to curtail militant activities and pipeline explosion across the country.
Ararile explained that the committee is expecting to have about 15,000 ex-militants from the over 60 militancy groups operating within the region. He disclosed that each of the ex-militants would be paid the sum of N65,000 monthly throughout the 42-month period of disarmament, demobilisation and re-integration throughout.
According to him, from the N10.14 billion approved by the National Assembly for amnesty, only N958.61 million has so far been released by Federal Government.
He added that an additional sum of N1.273 billion has been approved but yet to be credited into the committee’s account.
“The amount is the sum that has been approved but not yet credited into our account. The amount is strictly allowances and when it enters the account, we will use it to off set both outstanding allowances and the future allowances for the ex-militants. From the original budget of N10 billion, ex-militant receive N65,000 for 10,000 people.
While responding to question on the Niger Development Master Plan, he noted that the development of the Niger Delta region on provision of infrastructure would be done by all tiers of government and international agencies.
Also speaking, Timiebi Koripamo-Agary, media coordinator of the amnesty committee described the exercise as successful. She said the number of militants that accepted the amnesty offer were so many that the committee’s capacity was pushed to the limits. “Happily, with the cooperation of all, including the military, security agencies, the militants, media, the commitment of amnesty officials and Nigerians, the country was able to successfully implement the programme.”
“The huge quantity, quality and sophistication of the arms recovered under the amnesty programme shows that the Niger Delta and Nigeria is a safer place now. It is a huge relief that these weapons have been moved out of the region.
“With peace returning to the Niger Delta, the youths, the people and security forces will no longer lose their lives in needless conflicts, communities will be peaceful, children can return to school without disruption and the process of rebuilding and development can begin. It is a win-win situation for all,” Koripamo-Agary said.

WARRI — THE Joint Task Force, JTF, on the Niger-Delta vowed, yesterday, to consume the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta, MEND, should the group make good its threat to commence fresh attacks on oil installations in the Niger-Delta even as the National Assembly has appropriated a total N10.2 billion for the settlement of allowances of over 10,000 militants who have accepted the Federal Government’s amnesty.

The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, has also warned the Federal Government that the Niger Delta crisis is not over despite the acceptance of amnesty by militants leaders including Tompolo, Ateke Tom, Farah Dagogo and Boyloaf.

JTF warns MEND

Militants1JTF Commander, Major-General Sarkin Yarkin-Bello, who spoke exclusively to Vanguard yesterday on the latest threat by MEND, advised the group to rescind its threat to commence fresh attacks on oil installations because any militant or group that carries out such action would be consumed.

He also urged newsmen to ignore the faceless spokesman of MEND, Jomo Gbomo, and the statements purported to be from him because there was nobody known as Jomo Gbomo.

He said that instead of causing fresh violence in the region, MEND, Jomo Gbomo and every other Nigerian should give peace a chance by joining hands with the Federal Government to consolidate on the gains of the Amnesty programme.

The JTF boss said he was surprised that journalists in Nigeria were publishing electronic mail statements from a Jomo Gbomo they don’t know and have not met, asking why those publishing the statements from the faceless entity have not bothered to meet him face-to-face to know who he is.

He asserted that the identities of the spokesman of the Talibans, which is one of the extremist groups in the world and even terrorist, Osama Bin Laden are known and wondered why the Jomo Gbomo, who claimed to be the spokesman of MEND, was hiding his identity.

Major-General Yarkin-Bello challenged the media to find out if Jomo Gbomo who issues the statement was a human being or fake.

N10.2bn allowance for ex-militants

Meanwhile, Chief Coordinator, Federal Government Inter Agency Coordinating Committee on Amnesty, AVM Lucky Ararile disclosed yesterday that the National Assembly has appropriated N10.2 billion out of the N50 billion proposed to it by President Umaru Yar’Adua for the amnesty package.

AVM Ararile who disclosed this while briefing the newsmen on the end of the 60-day amnesty offer in Abuja, explained that N958,612,000.00 has already been spent on the benefiting ex-militants.

He said, the number of ex-militants may rise to about 14,000 or 15,000 and that if they come up to 15,000, “we will talk about N975 million per month as allowances to them”

According to him, “you can recall that the President submitted a supplementary bill recently to the National Assembly and they approved it before they went on recess. It was public knowledge and was widely reported. So, I still can’t understand why the issue of N50 billion is still coming up”.

“That was not what was appropriated. You can propose whatever you will want, you can propose N100 billion, and you can propose N500 billion, if they give you N5 billion that is it. What the National Assembly has given to you, that is what you will use.

“It will be recalled that the President proposed N50 billion supplementary bill to the National Assembly but the sum of N10.14 billion was approved. The National Assembly has appropriated the sum of N10.14 billion to the agency I can remember correctly”.

On the agency’s expenditure so far, he said, “as at 7th October 2009, the total sum that has been released to the agency is N958,612,000.00. Now, there is a sum of N1.273 billion that has been approved but has not been credited to the agency’s account. As at yesterday, it has not entered our account, but we are aware it has been released.

“This amount that we are expecting is feeding allowance, when it enters our account, we will use it to offset both outstanding and future allowances to the ex-militants”, he said.

He added that “the original budget was worked on an estimate of 10,000 ex-militants and you know that if ex-militants accumulated in terms of feeding allowances and monthly stipends is N65,000 for 10,000 militants you are talking about N650 million.

“But the N1.2 million is actually for two months allowances of the ex-militants. But as I have just told you now, we are expecting about 14, 000 to 15, 000 ex-militants. If they come up to 15,000, we will talk about N975 million per month as allowances to the ex-militants”.

On what the government intends to do with the arms and ammunition surrendered by the militants, AVM Ararile explained that there are options available to the government on how to handle the issue of the arms and ammunitions, adding, “but the government has not decided yet.”

Speaking earlier, Media Coordinator of the agency, Dr. Timiebi Koripamo-Agary, eulogized the success recorded by the Presidential amnesty programme, noting, “the number of the militants that accepted the amnesty offer were so many that the capacity of the Amnesty Committee was pushed to its limits”.

She said, the huge quantity, quality and sophistication of the arms recovered under the amnesty programme shows that the Niger Delta and Nigeria is a safer place now.

‘Amnesty not end of N-Delta crisis’

Also NUPENG has urged the government against believing that the disarmament of some militants is an end to the Niger Delta crisis.

The union argued that “for the simple fact that organisation like the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, is still threatening and breathing fire, means that the government has more work to do to ensure that not only MEND, but other unknown groups and individuals that may not have embraced peace and abandon violence are encouraged to do so”.

President of NUPENG, Comrade Peter Esele, called on the Federal and state governments and other agencies saddled with the development of the region to embark on massive development of the Niger Delta if there must be enduring peace.