Wanted former militant
leader in the Niger Delta, Solomon Ndigbara, a.k.a. Osama Bin Laden, has
declared his readiness to work for peace in the area.
Ndigbara who spoke with our correspondent on phone from his
hideout, said he was ready to work with security agencies in the state
to ensure a lasting peace on the condition that he is no more declared
wanted by the security agencies, especially the military.
He denied being a cultist
and challenged his accusers to mention the cult gang he belongs. He
said having been invited to be part of the Rivers State amnesty
programme, it should be clear to all that it was the politicians who
instigated the federal government to declare him wanted.
He also insisted that no
lasting peace will come to Ogoniland due to the insincerity in the
quality and quantity of guns being submitted by the combatants.
Ndigbara pointed out that
for sincerity to be demonstrated in the programme, all those carrying
illegal arms and their ‘godfathers’ must take oath before surrendering
their arms.
The ex-militant
leader said that the fresh amnesty window offered cultists and criminal
gangs terrorising Ogoniland by Governor Nyesom Wike, though a welcome
development, is doomed to fail because the quality and quantity of arms
submitted in public by criminal gangs are a far cry from the actual
weapons used in carrying out criminal activities in Ogoniland.
He advised security operatives to ensure that those granted amnesty submit all their weapons for a lasting peace in the area.
According to Ndigbara:
“The guns I saw that were submitted are nonsense. Those are not the guns
they used to terrorize Ogoniland. And I asked that if the state
government needs me to say something, I don’t play pranks, let them be
sincere. They have done a lot of things to Ogoni people and they have
given the Ogonis sleepless nights.
“If security agents are
ready to do the right thing so that peace will reign in Ogoniland, they
should contact me and I will help them to know the truth”.
Chairman of the Rivers
State Amnesty Programme Committee, Mr Ken Chinda, who was also not
satisfied with the quality and quantity of arms submitted on Friday
warned that those still bearing arms will have themselves to blame as
security agencies will go after them.
Speaking in Bori,
headquarters of Khana Local Government Area of the state, Mr Chinda said
that the essence of the programme was to stop the unnecessary carnage
in the state.
He cautioned those that
had publicly renounced cultism not to go back to crime, as those caught
commiting crime would not be protected from prosecution by the amnesty
offered them.
The amnesty committee
boss said that the government would not hesitate to go after any
cultists that failed to key into the amnesty programme.
Eight AK 47 rifles, 445 rounds of ammunition, two G3 rifles were among weapons surrendered by the repentant brigands.
The first phase of the amnesty programme in the area collapsed due to insincerity by criminal gangs.
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