The Joint Military Task Force in the Niger Delta (JTF) has described as a fallacy, media reports that the military was negotiating amnesty for some militant groups. Col. Rabe Abubakar, the JTF spokesman said no officer of the Nigerian Army granted any interview to a foreign journalist working with Dow Jones Newswire on the subject of amnesty negotiation for militants. “The said soldier never had contact with this gentleman of the press, not to talk of granting him interview.
The JTF has never entered into any negotiation with any militant group because it is not within its mandate”, Col Abubakar disclosed. He said the JTF is a security implementation outfit with no mandate to negotiate with groups whether armed or not. According to him, although various groups have approached the task force with a request to lay down their arms, such gestures were always forwarded to ‘appropriate superior authorities’ for consideration.
“In as much as the JTF welcomes those who embrace peace, it has never launched itself in direct negotiations with armed groups as this is not within its guidelines. So, the story that a subordinate JTF commander had a direct negotiation with militant groups was utterly false and concocted to malign the JTF and the Nigerian military, Col Abubakar reiterated.
“The issue of amnesty to the militants, the JTF insists, rests squarely with the political class, as such, no military officer can make any statement on the issue until directed by the army headquarters. We are appealing to journalists always contact the JTF commander or his spokesman on issues of national security importance that has to do with JTF operations in the Niger Delta.” In a related development, the JTF has described the recent capture of a weapons-laden plane at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport as a confirmation of the complicity of Niger Delta militants in compromising national security. Expressing no surprise at the development, the JTF spokesman said illegal arms transfer worldwide had the common characteristics of a cargo plane having false shipment documents with unintended destinations landing in the intended country of delivery by giving a false reason or excuse of either fueling or technical problems.