There were indications on Monday that the Federal Government had sought the repatriation of a leader of MEND, Mr. Henry Okah(alleged alias Gbomo Jomo), from Angola.
Findings by our correspondent revealed that the Federal Government informed its Angolan counterpart that it wanted Okah to face trial for the crises in the Niger Delta.
The militant leader was arrested on September 3 at the Luanda Airport, Angola, where he had allegedly gone to procure arms for his group.
The report of the arrest filtered into the country as a rumour until his wife, Azuka, confirmed it on Saturday.
Although the government is yet to officially react to his arrest, a senior officer in the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Operation Restore Hope, told our correspondent on Monday that intelligence report from Abuja showed that the goverment had sought his repatriation.
The officer said, �The latest information on Jomo, who is now known as Henry Okah, is that the Federal Government has written the Angolan government through its embassy in Nigeria, demanding his repatriation to the country.
�The government is of the opinion that he was arrested for a criminal act which cannot be overlooked.
�More importantly, the government did not see the need for a fresh acquisition of arms by any group in the region at a time the prevailing fragile peace was being strengthened.
�It is unpatriotic for anybody to do such a thing again, particularly when President Umaru Yar�Adua recently granted amnesty to some militants and initiated development programmes in the region.
�So, the government wants him back in Nigeria for prosecution and the Angolan authorities have been duly informed about that.�
The Commander of the JTF, Brig.-Gen. Lawrence Ngubane, could not be reached for comment on Monday. But a source in his office at 93 Batallion, Effurun, Delta State, confirmed that there was a report that the government was working on the repatriation of the militant leader.
It was also learnt on Monday that the government had sought the assistance of a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, in the search for peace in the Niger Delta.
Sources said that Alamieyeseigha was asked to prevail on his kinsmen in Bayelsa and Delta states to embrace peace.
One of the sources said that the government sought the help of the former governor because of his clout in the region, particularly among the Ijaw.
The former governor is believed to have begun meeting some of the stakeholders in the region, especially the militants, who have held the area to ransom since February 2006.
He is said to have spent two days in the creeks of Delta State last week, preaching peace to his kinsmen, especially those in Oporoza, headquarters of the volatile Gbaramatu clan in Warri South West Local Government Area.
He addressed the people, including the youth leaders from riverside Ijaw communities on the imperative of peace for sustainable development.
Alamieyeseigha urged them to cooperate with the President to enable him implement his development programmes in the region.
Before he went to Oporoza, he visited Ngubane to explain his mission.
Alamieyeseigha told Ngubane that he was in the state in furtherance of the concerted efforts of Yar� Adua to restore peace in the region.
He informed Ngubane that he would use his contacts in the nooks and crannies of the creeks to bring a lasting peace to the region.
The former governor also visited the Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, in Asaba.
He arrived the state on Thursday and departed on Friday night.
It was learnt that Alamieyeseigha would undertake a similar tour of Bayelsa and other states inhabited by the Ijaw.
The President of the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities, Dr. Bello Oboko, said that Alamieyeseigha�s visit was to help the government achieve peace in the Niger Delta.
Oboko, in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Monday, said Alamieyeseigha appealed to the Ijaw for a ceasefire to ensure peace in the region.
He said that the people expressed their preparedness to give peace a chance as a mark of respect to Yar�Adua and Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan.