Alarm over Arms Build-up in Niger Delta

militants

An ex-militant in the Niger Delta region, Mr. Kennedy West, has warned of a heavy arms build-up in the region, stressing that the area might witness another orgy of violence if immediate steps were not taken. He called on the federal government to urgently embark on another round of disarmament programme in the region to avoid a return to the pre-amnesty era.

In an interview with journalists in Port Harcourt, Rivers State  monday, West called on the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, and the United States President, Mr. Barack Obama, to mount pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan to carry out the second phase of disarmament programme in the region.

West, who is the President of the Association for Non-Violence in the Niger Delta (ANND), said: “When late President Umaru Yar’Adua granted amnesty to Niger Delta militants, we members of the ANND also made it known that there were a lot of renegades who did not believe in the Amnesty programme. This set of people carted away huge arms and ammunition of their bosses.

“For instance, John Togo, we knew how he carted away the arms of Tompolo. He became a renegade and later died. There are other militant camps in the Niger Delta, where the same thing happened.”

He said the arms in the region had surpassed the pre-amnesty era, stressing that it was responsible for the current increase in oil theft in the region.

“We want to tell you that the arms in the Niger Delta region are more than what people think. The arms in this region now are two times bigger than what the militants from various camps submitted in 2009, under the amnesty programme. The arms here are two times heavier than what we had here in 2009.

“Therefore, we are pleading with the secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, we are pleading with President Obama to impress on President Jonathan to do the final phase of disarmament in the Niger Delta, or else, there will be problem,” he said.