Aggrieved Ex-Militants Drag Kuku, Amnesty Office To Court

A Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, has adjourned till November 18, 2014, hearing in the suit by 18 ex-militant leaders from Bayelsa and Delta states, who are praying the court to compel the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and Chairman of the Amnesty Implementation Committee, Mr Kingsley Kuku and the Amnesty Committee to include them in the amnesty programme.

The ex-militants, in the suit before Justice I. Ekwo, are contending that they accepted amnesty under the third phase and surrendered their weapons to the Federal Government through the Amnesty Office in 2011 under the Peace Initiative of the Federal Government.

The plaintiffs, Asenekir Oyile, Angiama-Owei Oyindoubra, John Government, John Sawyer, Trydy Okpeke, Dollor Motor, Selebi Ayowei, Bobra Angese, Richman Oyindoubra and Henry Gomeromo, are arguing that the Amnesty Committee erred by refusing to include them in the ongoing amnesty programme after series of resolutions from meetings with the past and present National Security Advisers to the President, Late General Owei Azazi and Col. Dasuki Sambo, respectively.

According to them, instead of respecting the resolutions and directives from the National Security Adviser, Dasuki Sambo, the Amnesty Committee turned down the call to include them  but had adopted divide and rule tactics with the inclusion of three out of the 22 persons.

They are, therefore, praying the court to compel the Chairman of the Amnesty Committee and the Amnesty Committee, Kuku, to approve reasonable slots for them as agreed at one of the peace meetings on December 19, 2011.

The ex-militants also want the court to compel the defendants to pay due allowances of the plaintiffs and their foot soldiers from March, 2012 until the plaintiffs are fully settled under the Niger Delta Amnesty Committee.