THERE appears a new twist to last week’s surrender of arms by repentant militants in Bayelsa State as indications emerged on Sunday that President Umaru Yar’Adua has ordered a discreet investigation into the sources of arms turned in by MEND Commander, Victor Ebikabowei, alias Boyloaf as well as other militant leaders who had operated in Bayelsa State.
The Presidency was said to be uncomfortable with the insistence of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) that the arms were procured for the repentant militants by the Bayelsa State government.
MEND’s spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, said in an online interview that the organisation was ready to provide evidence that the arms were bought by the Bayelsa State government just as it had raised the alarm penultimate week that the JTF, Nigerian Army, as well as the ministries of Defence and Niger Delta Affairs had planned to gather arms of different calibres to reflect the semblance of a successful amnesty process.
The Presidency was said to be inundated with claims that the arms were not similar to the ones used by the militants, heightening fears that several arms and ammunition were still in the creeks.
The live coverage of the event, which took place at the Isaac Boro Peace Park, Yenagoa, as well as the colourful ceremony marking the occasion has become subject of debate in the state.
All the same, the state government denied the claim that the arms were bought for the militants, describing MEND as a faceless body. While Governor Timipre Sylva said, in Lagos, that the militant group was being over celebrated in the media, his senior special assistant on media, Preye Wariowei, described the arms purchase deal as laughable.
But according to a highly placed security source in the Presidency, President Yar’Adua may have quietly ordered that the allegation of ‘arms-show-for-peace-deal’ be properly investigated.
“Several stories have been told about how the militants came about the arms they surrendered on Saturday last week; you know it is a very sensitive issue; so what we did was to forward to the relevant authorities, such stories so that they can find a solution to some of them.
“Some say the arms were bought for the militants by politicians while others say they were supplied by the security agencies; where we are now is that the president has ordered that the real sources of arms surrendered on that day be probed and report submitted to him within two weeks.
“You can understand why this has to happen, because this is a very important aspect of government’s desire to bring about peace in the restive region; so anything that will hamper such has to be identified and dealt with on its merit; even the police, JTF, army and others that have been accused are under surveillance,” the source said.
Following the declaration of amnesty for armed youths by President Yar’Adua in June this year, Governor Sylva led Boyloaf, accompanied by 31 other repentant militants, to the Aso Rock. The militants, who were received by Yar’Adua, denounced armed struggle with a promise to accept the Federal Government’s amnesty package.
Consequently, Boyloaf, alongside the repentant militants, turned in hundreds of arms and ammunition to the Federal Government, through the Amnesty Implementation Committee, at a colourful ceremony in the Bayelsa State capital.