Why Niger Delta Ex-militants Hit The Street Again
As the presidential amnesty programme draws close to the end, a group of over 500 Niger Delta ex-militants on Tuesday, October 20, took to the streets of Abuja protesting an alleged fraud within the management of the programme.
According to Vanguard, the aggrieved ex-militants accused the handlers of the programme of embezzling over N405 million the federal government had released for them.
The accusing finger pointed specifically at one Peter Evah from the amnesty office of withholding their monthly stipends for over four years counting from 2011.
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The Niger Delta ex-militants who claimed to have come from Berebegha Camp which happens to be one of the recognized camps during the disarmament programme disclosed that the period amounts to about N405 million.
The Berebegha Camp group called on the President Mohammandu Buhari-led administration to swing into action to investigate the matter to unknot the true picture of how the funds are being spent.
They noted that they were in Abuja to protest against what they called injustice being meted on them by the Amnesty Office and
The protesters who displayed placards with different inscriptions read: ‘Enough is enough, Perter Evah must go’, ‘President Buhari should probe Amnesty Programme’, ‘Pay us our money Peter Eva,’ and ‘we want justice from government’.
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The coordinator of the group, Barrister Angela Adigwe said that the embezzlement was an absolute conspiracy among the top management of the presidential amnesty programme.
Adigwe confirmed that the non-payment of the protesters stipends dated back to 2011.
The barrister said that the matter was an urgent one that required the attention of the presidency.
Adigwe implored President Buhari to help institute a panel of inquiry to probe the programme starting from the onset.
She noted that this will determine whether the real persons were benefiting from the programme or not.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged foul play ahead of the December 5 governorship election in Bayelsa state stressing that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has plans to rig the election following the sudden transfers from the state of Bassaleg Al-Hassan, the state director of the Department of State Security (DSS), and Paul Okafor, the state police commissioner.
Source: Legit.ng
