Most popular militant in nigeria government tompolo has finally surrender his arm and accept president yaradua amnesty offer in aso rock.Read more
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=156134

D-day is here, will he actually surrender?

Tompolo, 3,000 other militants surrender today
Headlines Oct 3, 2009

JUST 24 hours to tomorrow’s amnesty deadline, the most powerful militant leader in Nigeria and the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of militants in the Niger-Delta, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo is expected to publicly accept amnesty with over 3,000 militants under his command and also handover at least 500 weapons to the Federal Government today (Saturday, October 3).

The Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Niger-Delta (JTF) was understood to be keyed up about the development, as it sees Tompolo as one of the greatest obstacles to the peace process in the region, but, the Commander, Major-General Sarkin Yarkin-Bello could not be immediately reached for comments.

Tompolo

Saturday Vanguard gathered on good authority that the last of the titans, Tompolo has, however, decided that the ceremony, which will take place in one of the creek communities in Gbaramatu kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State would be devoid of pageantry and the Minister of Defence, Major-General Godwin Abbe (rtd), who is also the chairman of the Presidential Panel on Amnesty and Disarmament of Militants, according to accessible information, will lead the Federal Government delegation to receive the armaments.

The news that Tompolo will surrender today was first broken to Saturday Vanguard at about 7.00 am yesterday by one of his foot soldiers before a dependable “commander” in his camp later confirmed the information.

The foot soldier asserted, “Oga (Tompolo) is going to surrender tomorrow (today), they have sent message to us all the boys to bring back the arms in our possession, we are looking at about 500 apart from the ones the soldiers confiscated during the Cordon and Search operation”.

“All the boys are going about to bring out the guns they are holding from where they hide them because we have got orders now to return the arms back to the GOC”, he added.

Baring any odd, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan who traveled out of the country for the Governors’ Global Climate Summit in the United States of America , but, had been talking to Tompolo on phone to surrender latest tomorrow was expected to have flown in to Nigeria , last night, for today’s epochal event.

Saturday Vanguard learnt that the minor misunderstanding between Major_General Abbe and Tompolo over the temperament of the former during their first meeting at Oporoza has since been ironed out, as the Minister had spoken to Tompolo after then.
Besides Major-General Abbe and Governor Uduaghan, who may send a representative if he failed to make it today, the Special Adviser to the President on the Niger-Delta, Mr. Timi Alaibe is also said to be one of the key facilitators of today’s affair. The coordinator of the Sub-Committee on Disarmament, Air-Vice Marshal Lucky Ararile is expected to move the arms that will be turned in by Tompolo and his men away for safekeeping.

Spokesman of the traditional ruler of Gbaramatu kingdom and member of the Delta Waterways Security Committee (DWSC), Chief Dennis Otuaro confirmed to Saturday Vanguard that His Royal Majesty, Pere Godwin Bebenimibo practically prevailed on Tompolo, who is one of his subjects to accept amnesty and surrender his arms to the government.

The chat between Saturday Vanguard and Tompolo’s lieutenant yesterday went thus:

I got a call before this meeting with you earlier today that your boss, Tompolo will formally accept amnesty and surrender arms tomorrow (today)?

Who told you?

One of the boys just called to tell me but is it true?

Well, there is something like that for tomorrow that is why I was asked to meet and brief you

So, where is the ceremony going to take place, here in Warri or Abuja, Ateke Tom went to Abuja on October 1 to surrender to President Umaru Yar’Adua?

Tompolo doesn’t want something like a jamboree; it is going to be a simple and quiet event

Is he attaching any condition because I know he was talking about extension of the October 4 deadline for a proper homework to be done?

All he is doing is in good fate for the people of Niger-Delta but some people were misunderstanding him and he does not want an erroneous impression to be created.

I will come to that later, but, what I can tell you is that Tompolo wants the Federal Government to demilitarize the Niger-Delta.

He does not believe the military has any role to play in the oil and gas sector and he strongly thinks that anything security in the creek communities should be left to the host communities to handle.

You see, what the soldiers do behind the scene in the oil communities is terrible, those who posted them there and stay in Yenagoa, Warri and Abuja do not know what is going on.

For instance, few days ago, there was a shooting incidence where soldiers, who have been occupying Camp 5 since they attacked and took over the place in May, just started shooting indiscriminately at the direction of the village, causing panic everywhere.

Their leader there claimed he got information that some people wanted to attack them, but, the authorities found out it was true, I think they invited the person that gave the order to shoot to discipline him, the point I am making that these soldiers are overzealous in the way they do things and leaving them around will cause more problem.

He also wants the government to give license to qualified members of the host communities to be engaged in the oil business to give them a sense of belonging while Ijaws should be political space in the country.

We want more Ijaw states and local governments since the wealth of the country, which is derived from our areas is shared based on local governments, states and other indices.

Above all, he wants the government to have a concrete post_amnesty plan for the people they are making to lay down their arms.

You cannot tell them to go and form cooperative society of say 10 persons in one group, after which you will give a group N1 million and tell them to start something with it, what will somebody do with N100,000 capital, the government should make adequate plan.

Tompolo asked for extension of time to enable him contact his boys that are scattered in the creeks with arms, has he been able to do that before deciding to hand over?

Well, some people were creating a wrong impression that he was asking for extension of the deadline in order to buy time and acquire more arms to fight the government. But that is not his intention at all.

You see, this is a man that is already rich but he is concerned about the sufferings and deprivations of his people.

He wanted a thorough job to be done because it will be bad for the government if after setting a time to the amnesty programme, the thing fails because some people who ought to accept amnesty and surrender arms did not do so because certain things, which ought to be done correctly were not done.

Now, that they seem to be in so much hurry and people are pressurizing him to surrender, he has reached out to those he was able to reach, and will, therefore, surrender the weapons he has at least to let them know that he is not against amnesty and also prove those who are painting him as a Devil wrong.

I learnt he is going to submit up to 500 weapons?

Let us not speculate on the number yet until he surrenders. He is not a dishonest person. Remember the JTF told the whole world that they invaded Camp 5 and other satellite branches and confiscated all their weapons, which the militants abandoned.

They also told you people (press) that they ransacked our armories all that. If Tompolo was not a straightforward person, he would accept amnesty and leave his arms, claiming he has no arms to surrender since the JTF said they have seized our arms, but, he is desirous to help the government to mop up all the arms in the possession of his men and he only asked for extension of time for a thorough job to be done but since they don’t want to extend the time and want him to surrender whatever he has, he is going to do that.

But is it not true that he and others were planning a counter attack under the auspices of MEND after the deadline?

That is the misinformation and misrepresentation I am talking about. Some people are deliberately misconstruing him and dishing out such information and it’s because he wants to prove them wrong that he has decided to surrender.

He does not want anybody to launch attack on his people under the pretext that he refused to surrender. So the government should take it the way they see it thereafter.

Let us hope so. But 500 weapons? Thats laughable, Delta state is brimming with sophisticated weapons.
I hail Tompolo for requesting zero fanfare, he is definitely the only genuine militant leader; he will come out of this strengthened, as has Henry Okah. The last men standing. They join the likes of Great Ogboru, as proud men of strength who have taken action; rather than turn the other cheeck.

If the amnesty remains clueless, then doomsday has only been temporarily held off. The govt has aquired some new fangled stuff, but the ND can arm up to levels of sophistication yet undreamt off and re-organise, all in a very short time.
Let us hope it doesn't come to that.

Regardless of the way the FG wishes to play this, the grip of the oligarchy has been fatally weakened; with Wole Soyinka on MENDs team, other Southern power blocks need to take advantage or be left behind. These are momentous times.

Beaf,
Do u think its kinda not smart to do that? What is the guarantee that this is not an attempt by the FG to disarm in preparation for a blood bath coming soon once they already got them armless? hhhmmmm I don't trust em

@Udezue
Yes it is a cat and mouse game, but I sincerely doubt that anybody has been left naked for any sort of bloodbath.

MEND especially Tompolo, Dagogo, Tom Ateke nd theìr whole crew have disappointed me

puskin:

MEND especially Tompolo, Dagogo, Tom Ateke nd theìr whole crew have disappointed me

relax. . . . MEND encouraged Tompolo et al to drop their arms cos they are too well known. . . they will all be replaced by other commanders. . .

Ibime:

relax. . . . MEND encouraged Tompolo et al to drop their arms cos they are too well known. . . they will all be replaced by other commanders. . .

Hmnn . . . . , food for thought.

lets wait & see maybe its going on in presidential villa, Afterall the day is stil young.

It has been comfirmed by an aso rock insider that government tompolo has finally accepted the presidential amnesty offer.Full details coming soon,

Plan B for federal government is sophisticated warfare via foreign weapons/agents, what's the plan B for local control of resources?

Check link
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=156134

Government Ekpelumo
Asari Dokubo
Ateke Tom
General Boyloaf

All have made money and want to be re-integrated into the society. This whole Amnesty deal is nothing more than a photo op between the militants and the President. And from recent new it looks like Yar'adua is very obsessed with the photo op.

But what we have seen is that when these militant leaders leave the scene another leader always emerge and the rest of the country and security forces will spend another 6 - 12 months learning who they are and how they operate.

I think Government should stop trying to circumvent the real issue by signing amnesty deals with militants who have made money for themselves and would rather want to spend more time enjoying their largesse.

The only solution is addressing the infrastructural problems, tackling corruption, devolution and resource control.
That way the battle for hearts and minds will be lost by the militants and anybody threatening the peace of the rest of us will be declared an enemy of state and every nook and crany of the country will support the full might of the state falling on them.

But right now that is not the case because these peace deals with only those who had the temerity to carry guns against the state does not put food on the table of the man from oloibiri and infact gives more younger people more reason to go into militancy than not.
At least that seems the only way to get Government attention.

~Bluetooth:

Check link
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=156134

from ya link:


"It took a lot of pleas from top government officials present and members of his entourage to get Tompolo summon up courage to make his brief speech at the event. Tompolo, who was billed to make a speech after the Defence Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Amnesty, Maj-Gen Godwin Abbe, (rtd), Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State and Chief Tony Anenih had all spoken, became jittery, bemused and confused and could not put himself together to make the speech.
Sensing that he was having problems with spoken English, there were suggestions to him to speak in his native language while somebody would translate from the audience.  After about five minutes of dilly-dallying ,he managed the terse remarks."

make una see de bolded part above o.  illiterates like tomfoolu, dey fight noble fight courageously with their lives. mainwhile de educated ones wey be cowards dey hide for diaspora - defending their thieving governors, and bank crooks wey dem don catch red handed. these cowards dey shout due process all over nairaland defending thiefs. in de maintime, de irresponsible coward commentators never do a single ting to pressure state or federal government about  de plight of de niger delta people.

instead make dem do dat, dem dey use all their energy to support their elite brothers in banking thievery.  when amphibian weapons and advisers reach naija from israeli in a few weeks, and so-called gbomo gbomo is himself captured, people go know say crime no get long life.


make una see one of their leaders here dey threaten new war:



[flash=400,400]
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mikeansy:

Government Ekpelumo
Asari Dokubo
Ateke Tom
General Boyloaf

All have made money and want to be re-integrated into the society. This whole Amnesty deal is nothing more than a photo op between the militants and the President. And from recent new it looks like Yar'adua is very obsessed with the photo op.

But what we have seen is that when these militant leaders leave the scene another leader always emerge and the rest of the country and security forces will spend another 6 - 12 months learning who they are and how they operate.

I think Government should stop trying to circumvent the real issue by signing amnesty deals with militants who have made money for themselves and would rather want to spend more time enjoying their largesse.

The only solution is addressing the infrastructural problems, tackling corruption, devolution and resource control.
That way the battle for hearts and minds will be lost by the militants and anybody threatening the peace of the rest of us will be declared an enemy of state and every nook and crany of the country will support the full might of the state falling on them.

But right now that is not the case because these peace deals with only those who had the temerity to carry guns against the state does not put food on the table of the man from oloibiri and infact gives more younger people more reason to go into militancy than not.
At least that seems the only way to get Government attention.

God bless you, my brother.

I hope these weapons will not be used for 2011? 'This is the greatest day in Nigeria' indeed. these crooks have an inflated opinion of themselves. cynics like us are watching.Lets see how you can cure skin cancer using Eczema medication. I hope all the billions allocated or this amnesty program will be accounted for? Instead of Tompolo and his associates to use their might and heart in dealing with the crooks who have helped in raping their area, they were busy bursting pipelines, polluting their environment, kidnapping and killing foreigners and collecting ransom. This is a missed opportunity and i am certain that nothing has and will change. Wait for 2011 and see these bandits return back to the scene. rather still wait and see how the largese is shared amongst his boys after the amnesty.

Beaf:

Let us hope so. But 500 weapons? Thats laughable, Delta state is brimming with sophisticated weapons.

mikeansy:

Government Ekpelumo
Asari Dokubo
Ateke Tom
General Boyloaf

All have made money and want to be re-integrated into the society. This whole Amnesty deal is nothing more than a photo op between the militants and the President. And from recent new it looks like Yar'adua is very obsessed with the photo op.

But what we have seen is that when these militant leaders leave the scene another leader always emerge and the rest of the country and security forces will spend another 6 - 12 months learning who they are and how they operate.

I think Government should stop trying to circumvent the real issue by signing amnesty deals with militants who have made money for themselves and would rather want to spend more time enjoying their largesse.

The only solution is addressing the infrastructural problems, tackling corruption, devolution and resource control.
That way the battle for hearts and minds will be lost by the militants and anybody threatening the peace of the rest of us will be declared an enemy of state and every nook and crany of the country will support the full might of the state falling on them.

But right now that is not the case because these peace deals with only those who had the temerity to carry guns against the state does not put food on the table of the man from oloibiri and infact gives more younger people more reason to go into militancy than not.
At least that seems the only way to get Government attention.

The only solution

At least Yar'Adua has achieved something . . . .

MrCrackles:

Two things,

What kind of name is that, Government

And besides, why is the guy looking scruffy, unkept and haggard

MrCrackles:

Two things,

What kind of name is that, Government

And besides, why is the guy looking scruffy, unkept and haggard

What is ur biz if he's unkept or he is called govt? Come Crack Head go sidon. The major thing be say he has surrendered.

MrCrackles:

Two things,

What kind of name is that, Government

And besides, why is the guy looking scruffy, unkept and haggard

ND people answer all sorts of names; govt, big man, Heineken, Gulder etc.
so it is not anything new.

on the second issue, i looked at the pics several times and i was wondering who was the militant therein.

God help am,

MrCrackles:

Government is one helluva name!

Crack Head what is your problem with Chief Goverment Tompolo? Are you angry he decided to give peace a chance? Abeg ooooh we don tire with militant activity for we Niger Delta period.

1luvkipsus:

God help am,

1luvkipsus:

God help am,

amen

Pray for nigeria because the die is cast.

surrendering is not the matter but, will the Federal Govt keep its own side of the bargain ? On the other hand, is this a 100% surrender by the militants ? Lets think about this.

all i will say is that the federal govt should live up to its promise concerning making life out of these ex-militants and finally i hope the so called ex-millitants truly surrendered all their weapons which i doubt.

everything that has a beginning must have an end!!

govt should now do their part well or . . . .

these guys have failed us.tompolo and co are nothing but fools.they have decided to collide with the govt in looting the nation's treasury.i pray that god strengthens the MEND to fight these injustices that are melted out on the people of ND.we all know what happens in nigeria when u tryna solve any problem with the govt through dialogue.our illegitimate president just invested billions to get trillions.this is how it works.using billions to lure any opposition out of the way so that he can freely bump crude oil with out resistance and make all the money.we all know that he ain't got no development plan for ND.and for those of u shouting'give peace a chance' all the time peace had a chance,what did it do with.VIOLENCE in that area and REVOLUTION IN the whole land is our only solution.pharoah would have never let the isrealites go if not for the HARD lesson he was taught.