Some ex-militants under the aegis of United Sea-Wolf Avengers on Thursday evening started a protest at the premises of Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission office in Akure.
They are protesting against alleged non-incorporation of their members into the Federal Government Amnesty Programme.
Protesters carried placards which read: “We Fulfill Our Part Of Agreement’’, “Nigeria and Ondo State Government Are Playing Upon Our Intelligence’’, “Ondo State Politicians Have Hijacked Amnesty Slots’’.
Others are: “We Are Regretting Laying Down Our Arms and Ammunition’’ and “All The Generals Say No To The Amnesty Slot’’.
The Ondo State Government and the Presidential Amnesty Committee, had on November 9, 2017, enrolled some ex-militants in the state who were willing to submit their arms into the programme.
The state government gave the former militants 21-day grace to submit their arms to the state Amnesty Committee headed by the Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi.
But the United Sea-Wolf Avengers said none of its members were enrolled, alleging that the slots were given to cronies, children and wards of politicians and traditional rulers.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the ex-militants on Thursday evening turned the premises of the commission to a dwelling place as they erected mosquito nets and put on series of fetish items.
NAN reports that the protest grounded activities at the commission as workers, who reported for duties on Friday, could not open doors to their offices even with the presence of the anti-riot policemen.
The leader of the protesters, General Deji Ehinmowo, told journalists that politicians in the state had hijacked the amnesty programme by allotting the slots to their children, friends and supporters.
Ehinmowo said that the group had given prior notice to the Directorate of State Service and Nigeria Navy in Ilaje Local Government about the hijack of the slots by politicians.
He said that the military was supposed to determine those to be enrolled, not politicians.
He said: “We don’t believe in politicians, all what we believe is that they should incorporate us because we have already submitted our guns.
“We were told that 2,000 militants held in Ondo State will be incorporated with the over one million militants incorporated in the 2009 Amnesty Proclamation by the Federal Government.
“But we are surprised about the attitude of political leaders in the state Amnesty Board who manipulated the issues by not recognising the real militants that submitted their guns for amnesty.
“Due to the speech of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, we all know he is not in support of what the amnesty board committee is doing.
“We also know that APC, at the federal level is fighting corruption, but we don’t know why Ondo State amnesty committee is manipulating and jeopardising our amnesty slots.
“It is unfortunate that Ondo State amnesty committee has hijacked the programme by given out slots to their political members without considering the real militants that submitted their weapon to government.”
Ehinmowo urged both the state and Federal Government to address the abnormality before it would take another dimension, saying that “our gun is our occupation’’.
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