Brigadier-General Paul Boroh (Rtd), on Monday, January 11,
said hundreds of ex-militants in the Niger Delta region have been captured in
the ongoing verification exercise for amnesty programme, Today.ng reports.
Boroh, who is the special adviser to the President and coordinator of the amnesty programme said there are no plans to end the programme as speculated in some quarters.
Boroh, who is the special adviser to the President and coordinator of the amnesty programme said there are no plans to end the programme as speculated in some quarters.
The special adviser revealed that the Federal Government
intends to get rid of alleged ghost names registered in the programme.
He said the verification exercise became necessary in order
to sustain prompt payments for the ex-agitators and other programmes of
training and empowerment as enshrined in the agenda of the amnesty programme.
Brig General Boroh explained that the federal government
recognises the importance of the amnesty programme to the sustenance of peace
and security in the Niger Delta region.
Following speculation in some quarters that the federal
government plan on scrapping the Niger Delta Amnesty programme, Bayelsa Elders
Council (BEC) recently warned President Muhammadu Buhari against such
decision. In a statement, BEC said
ending Amnesty programme in December, would have serious security implications
for the Niger Delta area.
The decision to end the programme might not be unconnected
with diverse controversies regarding the amnesty scheme, especially the latest
being the submission of “ghost names” to take-up the spaces of Niger-Delta
militants enrolled in the programme.
Just last week, President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal
Government commenced the direct payment of salaries into the account of former
militants of the Niger Delta region.
The Federal Government-led by late President Umaru Musa
Yar’Adua granted amnesty to the Niger Delta Militants as part of a desperate
effort to curb the restiveness in the oil rich region in 2009. The programme
has reportedly gulped $1 billion.
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