The turnout of events at the premises of the House last Tuesday and the inflammatory comments from politicians of both divides indicate that the services of cult members or unrepentant militants would be courted to achieve their political goals.
A politician was alleged to have publicly said that the lawmakers made a mistake of their lives for not “employing the services of their boys to protect them when they know that Police was not on their side”.
A competent source told Sunday Independent that on the day of the mayhem a prominent ex-militant leader (name withheld) was coming in three boats fully loaded with arms and militants with the aim of storming Government House in Port Harcourt to unleash mayhem but had to turn back after “an order from the top” persuaded him to halt the venture.
Since the present crisis began some four months ago, there have been insinuations that the ex-militants are busy stock-piling arms to prosecute the forth-coming 2015 elections. Sources said that politicians themselves are doing everything within their powers to use these militants as tools to achieve their political aim.
Only recently, more than 4,000 youths suspected to be militants stormed the Isaac Boro Park in Port Harcourt to protest against Governor Rotimi Amaechi, displaying placards that portrayed that he was no more needed as governor. The protesting youths were led by notable ex-militant generals led by Ateke Tom. Amaechi did a lot to tame the activities of militants when he came on board as governor.
Meanwhile, the Amnesty Programme has vehemently dismissed the insinuations that ex-militants presently undergoing trainings have been lured by politicians to do their biddings in view of the political situation in Rivers State.
Speaking with Sunday Independent in a telephone interview in Port Harcourt, the media officer of the programme, Daniel Alabra, said that there was no iota of truth in the allegation, noting that even if the youths are linked with the crisis, “it has nothing to do with us in the Amnesty Programme”.
Alabra reiterated that the crisis in Rivers State was self-inflicted, explaining that “though people are conjecturing that there may be crisis again in the state, that has nothing to do with us here in the Amnesty Programme. Our responsibility is to train these boys and place them in a better stead to rejoin the society as normal human beings.
“We have also tried as much as we could to get jobs for them, which was not part of our mandate. We are more interested in transforming these boys and rejoin them with the society. So after the training whatever they do, we don’t have power over them again,” he stated.
Sources however expressed concern over the fact that, with the increase in bunkering activities within the Niger Delta region, the tendency is that the crude may be exchanged for weapons fearfully being amassed in the region.
Illegal refineries are also becoming a household facility in most families in the state especially in Ogoni area of the state, even as security agencies appear to helpless because of their alleged involvement in the illicit trade.
Source: Daily Independent
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