The peaceful capital city of Edo State may witness chaos if urgent step is not taken as over 2000 ex-militants in the state have vowed to destroy all oil facilities in the state if the federal government tries to neglect them in the ongoing amnesty programme, Our Benin City Correspondent reports.
The repentant militants took their protest to major areas in Benin City before getting to the popular Oba Ovoranmwen square in ring road.
Our Benin City Correspondent reports that the protest halted vehicular and human movement for hours on Tuesday April 23 at the ever busy Square and its adjourning streets before military personnel comb the area and stopped the ex-militants from proceeding further to avoid escalation.
The ex-militants numbering over 2,000 comprising 11 camps in the riverine communities of the State also threatened to ‘blow up’ Oil installations in the area if their demands are not met by the federal government.
Spokes person for the former warlords, Richard Obe said they surrendered their arms on July 21, 2011 under the government third phase amnesty for repentant militant.
It would be recalled that the same set of militants staged same protest last year during the 2012 governorship election before they were pacified by the Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
According to Richard Obe, “about 6,342 former agitators from Ondo, Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa and Akwa-Ibom States who disarmed have been documented but they refused to capture us. Let me tell them, if they refuse to listen to us, we will blow up the Gelegele flow station because the gas station is located in our community”.
The Head of Media and Communication, Presidential amnesty programme, Mr. Daniel Alaboah who reacted to the development in a telephone conversation said the protesters are ‘impostures seeking for attention’.“We just finished our arms verification exercise. Where did they surrender theirs? I think they are making claims they cannot justify”, he averred.
Copyright: Fresh Angle International (www.freshangleng.com)
ISSN 2354 - 4104
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