Ex-militant leaders denounce MEND’s claim on Warri refinery fire

Former leaders of militant camps in the Niger Delta, who now belong to the Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative, have denounced the claim by a group it described as faceless, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, that it was responsible for Tuesday’s explosion at the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company.
The repentant militant leaders said in a statement on Wednesday that MEND used to be the pseudonym that they used while in the creeks for propaganda and that MEND ceased to exist from the day they accepted the amnesty offer of the Federal Government.
President of the LPCDI, General (Pastor) Reuben Wilson, said Nigerians should henceforth disregard any claims or threats by MEND because the group died in 2009.
According to Wilson, the acclaimed spokesman of MEND, Jomo Gbomo, never existed.
He said: “We make bold to say that there is no organisation like MEND. Yes, we used MEND and the name Jomo Gbomo for our propaganda activities when we were in the creeks. But from the very day we accepted the amnesty offer in 2009, MEND died.
“We challenge the person called Jomo Gbomo to show his face if he exists. For the avoidance of doubt, there is nobody bearing that name. Everything about MEND was a creation of the computer and the internet.
“All of us that used the name of MEND have since accepted amnesty and have left the creeks. So, MEND is dead. A person or an organisation that does not exist cannot be responsible for the explosion at the Warri refinery. The claim attributed to MEND is false and Nigerians should not believe any report about MEND for any reason.
“While we sympathise with the federal government, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Nigerians on the Warri explosion, we hasten to urge security operatives to investigate the incident. If sabotage is detected, the culprits should be prosecuted. Nobody should hide under the guise of a so-called MEND to sabotage the nation’s economy.
“We restate that the amnesty programme of the federal government is working and those of us that are beneficiaries are happy that we were given the privilege to come out of the creeks to contribute to the peace and development of the country. We know those who were in our various camps and we also are aware that all of them surrendered their arms. Since we disarmed, oil production activities have been carried out without hiccups.
“We cannot list the gains of the amnesty programme because they are amazingly innumerable. There may be people that are not happy that the Niger Delta now knows peace and may be fighting hard to discredit the amnesty programme. But we know that Nigerians and indeed the whole world know that the amnesty scheme is a huge success.
“If criminals have chosen to allow themselves to be used by politicians or political opponents of the government of the day, the appropriate government security organs should go after them and ensure they pay for their sins. For now, there are no more militants in the creeks.”