Niger Delta warlord and leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante Force, Ateke Tom has collected 3,000 forms from the amnesty committee, apparently to begin the process for the disarmament by his loyal foot soldiers. The move is coming just a few days to the October 4 deadline given all militants in the region to surrender their weapons and accept the Federal Government's amnesty offer. At Bomadi in Delta State, popular militant leader, General John Togo on Saturday embraced the amnesty deal and also promised to compel his associates to do the same in few days. Ateke had said in an interview that he was already tired of remaining in the creeks but that there were certain conditions that the government needed to fulfill before he would surrender his weapons. He had even joined Government Ekpemudo (Tompolo) to call for an extension of the deadline to enable the government meet the various conditions he gave for his surrender.Part of the conditions, apart from his invitation to Governor Rotimi Amaechi to visit him in the creeks, was that the Federal Government should take steps to address immediately, the issues that gave rise to militancy in the region. Sources said on Friday that Ateke sent his aides to pick up the forms from the amnesty committee on his behalf. It was not clear where the forms were actually collected. But a security source said the government was appreciative of the resolve of the militant leader to disarm. Ateke himself had spoken of his readiness to disarm. He said: "I am very ready to turn-in my arms but that is if government is sincere. If the government would fulfill our demands, what we want them to do. They know our demands, they are not new.
"But I believe that President Umaru Yar'Adua is sincere and will fulfill his undertakings to meet these demands but let him no allow some people deceive him and derail him."
He was asked of the issues at stake. Hear him: "It is no new story, do we begin to talk about them again, don't you see how Abuja is. If they transform the Niger Delta like Abuja, is it wrong, is it not good? Boyloaf has disarmed and embraced the amnesty in Bayelsa. Some other Niger Delta militants had equally done so. But they brand us all sorts of names and we accept whatever tags they give us but we know that we are fighting for our rights, the Niger Delta cause. We know that the whole world knows what we are fighting for. But we are not saying that they must accomplish all these demands before we disarm and come out of the creeks but at least, we want them to do something, start somewhere that is assuring." Ateke does not however believe that people should be forced to turn in their arms. "If they give us from now till December, it will be okay because it is disbarment which process involves persuasion and exhortation. "It is not something you enforce. Similar things had happened in other areas or parts of the world. They were never forced to bring out arms. Even so, those people they made peace with or where peace was restored, their arms are still with them but in the case of Niger Delta, they said we must bring out our arms. "But we still take it in good faith because we want peace but the time frame is very short. They should extend it." However, his latest moves appear to have excited the government. A source in government circles said on Friday that the authorities were waiting anxiously to receive Ateke's arms.
Meanwhile, suspected militants were feared to have attacked five fishing boats at Bonny in the late hours of Thursday. They seized the engines of the boats but there was no reported casualty.
Also in Port Harcourt, a worker with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) who was identified as Elechi has been kidnapped in Akpajo in the Eleme Local Government Area of the state. Details of the incident were sketchy as at the time of this report. Security agents confided in our correspondent that efforts were being made to get the kidnappers. In Bomadi on Saturday, General John Togo, embraced the Federal Government's amnesty offer by surrendering a cache of arms and ammunition to the military Coordinator of the amnesty programme in Delta State, Lieutenant- Commander Yahaya Chindo. He did at Ogodobiri, country home of former Police Affairs Minister, Aleowei Broadrick Bozimo in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State. But Togo vowed to go back to the creek for militia activities if the Federal Government fails to develop his impoverished community and attend to the issues of the Niger Delta region after the amnesty programme.
Togo who operated in the border area between Bayelsa and Delta States until 2005, when his attack and subsequent killing of some security operatives led to the sack of his community, Ogodobiri, in Delta state, declared: "this is all I have, I have given it all." The arms and ammunition surrendered by him included: four sub-machine guns (SMG), one general purpose machine guns (GPMG), six AK-47 rifles, two G3 rifles, one navy rifle, two pump action guns, three FN Rifles, and one Mark 4 gun. Others are 16 AK-47 Magazines, five FN magazines, four Tin of ammo, 30 dynamites explosives among others. About 94 "foot soldiers" of Togo still holed up in the creeks and were not part of the Saturday exercise, but the repentant militant vowed to evacuate them in few days since he has the assurance that the Federal Government amnesty programme would cater for them. Togo, had been arrested by the Joint Task Force (JTF) after he allegedly attacked the Chairman of Western Zone of the Ijaw National Congress, Chief Samson Mamamu, at his Salvation City community, Ogbe-Ijoh.
Togo, who was in JTF's custody for about three years before his release last year said he attached importance to the number of dynamites he has more than the guns saying, " 30 dynamites, for 30 oil wellheads, by the time I use only 10, Yar' Adua will know this is a serous matter." He however expressed delight over the amnesty offered him by President Yar' Adua, noting that he "accepted the olive branch to save his people and allow the Federal Government unveil its blueprint for the Niger Delta region." Former Commander and spokesman to Togo, 'Commander' Ebi Lagos said that Togo was dropping all he has because he had listened to advice by President Yar' Adua and all well meaning people of the Niger Delta. Lagos said that though Togo had embraced the amnesty, he wants the Federal Government to release George Saboma, (a.k.a. Egberipapa) and other militants in detention if it is sincere with the amnesty programme.
Security Adviser to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, Sheriff Oborevwori, who represented the Delta State governor at the occasion thanked the repentant militant for summoning the courage to disarm and appealed to others to come out and stop entertaining fear that the Federal Government would fail them. He said there will be no going back after acceptance of the amnesty and urged the remorseful militants to embrace the offer from their heart. Oborevwori, also appealed to Togo to talk to his colleagues to join the amnesty train, assuring that the Federal Government is poised to develop the region.
Independent Nigeria Newspaper
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