THE Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has dismissed the Federal Government’s plan to grant amnesty to militants who are prepared to lay down their arms.
Also, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Prof. Tam David-West, has urged the Federal Government to stop the trial of the MEND leader, Henry Okah and grant unconditional general amnesty to all genuine militants in the Niger Delta.
Reacting to the Federal Government’s proposal, MEND spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, in an online interview with The Guardian, said there was no way any genuine militant group would disarm when government could not be trusted.
Vice President Goodluck Jonathan had on Tuesday told the Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Abuja that the Federal Government was favourably disposed to granting amnesty to militants who lay down their arms.
Gbomo said: “MEND has taken it with a pinch of salt. Talk is cheap and besides, there is no trust. See what happened between Henry Okah and this same Vice President who talked to him about amnesty and asked for his help in the peace process, only to turn his back on him when Edward (Atatah) and Henry were held in Angola on trumped-up charges at the behest of the Nigerian government.”
He noted that the government was not sincere, “because if it were, then it would be talking to Okah who is in its custody and proposing this same amnesty to him.”
According to Gbomo, the group would only lay down arms if the government frees Okah who is standing trial on 48 charges, including treason and gun-running.
Gbomo said: “The fact though, is that the Niger Delta should be the one offering amnesty to the Nigerian government and not the other way. The soldiers sent there to rape, loot and kill and past leaders who have used our wealth to develop their areas to the detriment of the Niger Delta should be the ones requesting amnesty from us.”
The MEND spokesman stated that the recent incident where the Joint Task Force allegedly invaded several fishing communities and razed down mud and thatched houses of impoverished families who have suffered injustice for over 50 years should make any militant have a re-think. According to him, “these poor communities, more than ever, need armed fighters to balance the equation and protect them.”
On the proposed Niger Delta Summit, Gbomo reiterated MEND’s stance not to participate in it. He also took a swipe at Prof. Ibrahim Gambari who he described as the least qualified person in terms of integrity to chair the summit.
His words: “We have said it before. Gambari is the least qualified in terms of integrity to chair any committee on the Niger Delta. Here is a man who defended the actions of that despot, Sani Abacha and justified the killing of Ken Saro Wiwa to the United Nations. For even considering Gambari without doing a check on the man is an indication of the direction the summit will head, which to our opinion is failure after a jamboree.”
David-West told The Guardian that the militants’ struggle was moral and valid, hence government would not achieve the desired peace through its current carrot-and-stick stance.
He said: “Okah’s trial should stop. The government should give general amnesty to the boys. If you give general amnesty and free Okah, then government will hear a lot that has to be said than what will be said in court. Free Okah and that is the only way we can move forward.”