A MILITANT and General Commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Tamunotonye Kuna Obese, Sunday said a former leader of the militant group, Henry Okah, who is standing trial for treason and in detention in South Africa, spoke with him on the phone on Monday, and was in touch with other MEND leaders in Nigeria.

Obese, 25, who hails from Tombia in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State and was among the youthful 63 MEND fighters paraded Sunday before journalists by the Joint Task Force (JTF) at the Air Force Base, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said Okah had been encouraging the militants to continue fighting.

The MEND commander, from whose camp on November 18 at Borikiri, Port Harcourt, 19 kidnapped oil and construction workers were rescued, earlier embraced the Federal Government’s amnesty offer, but later returned to the creeks when his leader, Farah Dagogo, who also accepted amnesty, allegedly abandoned him and others.

Obese’s Presidential Amnesty identity card bore the registration number, 997.

A large cache of arms, comprising 45 AK-47 rifles, 12 General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs), thousands of assorted ammunitions, N673,000 cash, military camouflage, new military boots and belts, military bullet-proof vests, other military hardware, radiophones and MEND jackets, among others, were recovered from the militants. The kidnapped persons, who regained their freedom on Thursday in Port Harcourt, included 12 Nigerians, two Americans, a Canadian, two French and two Indonesians.

Obese said: "Henry Okah is the one doing these things (sponsoring militancy and kidnapping in the Niger Delta). We are in touch with him (Okah). He called me last Monday. He said, ‘Obese how are you?’ I said there is a serious problem.

"We (MEND fighters) are not happy with what our leaders are doing. My leader is Farah Dagogo. I did not hear from him and that is why I returned to the creeks. We are sorry for kidnapping. We want everybody to forgive us.

"I am a General Commander of MEND. Moses gave the arms and ammunition to us at the waterside to patrol the waterways and creeks."

When reporters attempted to probe further on the identity of Moses, the JTF Commander, Maj.-Gen. Charles Omoregie, said Obese had said enough, and assured the journalists that police investigations would reveal further details.

Omoregie said: "Yesterday (on Friday), the JTF took into custody the notorious Obese Kuna and 62 members of his gang. This gang has been the brains behind the spate of heinous crimes across the region.

"Notable among their activities was the abduction of Afren Group and Exxon Mobil personnel from their oil production platforms on 7th and 12th November, 2010 respectively.

"Prior to this, they had also abducted staff of Julius Berger Nigeria Limited and contributed significantly to the reign of fear and insecurity within the creeks of the Niger Delta."

According to the JTF commander, some of the militants had accepted the Federal Government’s amnesty and were currently receiving allowances from the government, but still went ahead to engage in activities strictly forbidden by the terms of the amnesty.

The Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, Mr. Suleiman Abba, said the apprehended militants would soon be charged to court.

Henry Okah, who is currently standing trial for treason in South Africa, was arrested over the October 1 twin bombings near the Eagle Square in Abuja, while President Goodluck Jonathan and other political leaders were celebrating Nigeria’s 50th independence anniversary.

Henry’s younger brother, Charles, who allegedly arranged for the cars used for the bombings in Lagos before they were wired in Port Harcourt and moved to Abuja for the operation, has been arrested with some of his associates and car dealers; they are currently standing trial in Abuja.

The JTF commander, also last Thursday, announced that his men had taken over seven active militant camps in the Niger Delta, consisting of two in Delta State (Sector 1), two in Bayelsa State (Sector 2) and three in Rivers State (Sector 3) and six dormant camps in Bayelsa State, with six militant leaders arrested in Bayelsa State.

See how well-fed those JTF dudes look?
Compared to the hungry-looking, alleged militants?

Why do we have all these MEND-JTF squabbles now that the elections are being doctored behind closed doors as usual?

When the North wants to distract the idle populace, we have staged religious/sectarian unrests. Now it is the turn of the South.

What exactly are these clowns up to?

^^ Southerners are more sophisticated than that; after all, we are more educated than y'all. GEJ does not need to rig to win next year presidential elections.

A MILITANT and General Commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Tamunotonye Kuna Obese, Sunday said a former leader of the militant group, Henry Okah, who is standing trial for treason and in detention in South Africa, spoke with him on the phone on Monday, and was in touch with other MEND leaders in Nigeria.

Obese, 25, who hails from Tombia in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State and was among the youthful 63 MEND fighters paraded Sunday before journalists by the Joint Task Force (JTF) at the Air Force Base, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said Okah had been encouraging the militants to continue fighting.

The MEND commander, from whose camp on November 18 at Borikiri, Port Harcourt, 19 kidnapped oil and construction workers were rescued, earlier embraced the Federal Government’s amnesty offer, but later returned to the creeks when his leader, Farah Dagogo, who also accepted amnesty, allegedly abandoned him and others.

this is how our security apparatus keeps shooting itself in the foot. after tha al jazeera fiasco, it will be next to impossible for okah to get hold of a phone - much more place a call to a specific number