Travelers passing through Lokoja – Abuja highway had a terrible experience yesterday, following the blocking of the road by security agents to prevent militants from the Niger Delta from getting to their destination: the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The development compelled thousands of vehicles passing through the ever busy road to be stranded for several hours, with long traffic hold up, before a combined team of the military and mobile policemen could clear the road.
LEADERSHIP gathered that about 1,600 militants, travelling with 300 different brands of vehicles were on their way to Abuja to register their protest on the inability of the federal government to religiously implement the amnesty programme.
Unhappy with the snail speed with which the programme was moving, militants from the Niger Delta have threatened to return to the creeks if the federal government fails to fast track the amnesty programme within four days.
One of their leaders who identified himself as General Ramsey told journalists that they were on their way to Abuja to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan to register their displeasure on the non implementation of the programme, before they were stopped by security agents in Kogi.
The militants, who were stopped at Jamata village, a few kilometres from the Murtala Mohammed bridge, have threatened to return to the creeks, since government was not ready to support the programme.
He pointed out that the federal government asked them to come out of the creeks and wondered why they have refused to fulfill their own side of the bargain, after they, the militants, have dropped their weapons.
‘They keep promising us since we embraced the amnesty programme, yet they are frustrating us by refusing to pay us. And we don’t want to go back to the creeks and carry arms again’, he added.
He further stressed that they have decided to lead their boys to Abuja because they are tired of the excuses they [the leaders] were giving them, as some of them believed they have collected money from the government and diverted it.
According to General Ramsey, the militants completed their training in December last year and they have not been paid their entitlements.
He said each time they meet with government, they were always given empty promises, saying the development was making them uncomfortable.
The militants’ leader maintained that the boys are angry and they are tired of holding them back, pointing out that they want Nigerians and the whole world to know that the federal government is frustrating the amnesty programme.
He disclosed that they were intercepted at about 4am yesterday morning, and ordered to return to the Niger Delta, but they insisted to continue with their journey, which led to the heavy traffic build up.
General Ramsey blamed the police for causing the traffic hold-up which made it impossible for travelers to move on, and absolved the militants of any blame, saying they were law abiding citizens who only wanted to register their grievances in Abuja.
Reacting to the matter in an interview, the state commissioner of police, Mr. John Abakasanga said they intercepted the militants and stopped them from traveling to Abuja because of the security implication.
He explained that their number was too large, disclosing however that the militants are peaceful in their conduct.
Some of the motorists who spoke to our correspondent expressed displeasure with the way things are going in the country, urging President Jonathan to be firm in piloting the affairs of the nation.
They decried the deplorable security situation in the country, which they noted, has become a matter of concern for everybody, stressing the need for him to quickly nip the problem in the bud.
Meanwhile, the aggrieved youths were of Ijaw ethnic nationality, drawn from Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta States.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, Mr Kingsley Kuku, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger-Delta Affairs and Chairman of the Amnesty programme, said that the agitating youths do not belong to any known former militant camp in the Niger-Delta. According to him, they are just Nigerian youths in search of empowerment and employment.
“The agitating youths are truly seeking avenues for empowerment, training or employment”, Kuku said. Speaking further, he re-iterated that disenchanted youths must not see the Amnesty Programme as a route to gain access to training, empowerment and employment.
He recalled the numerous successes recorded by the Amnesty Programme since its inception in 2009 and admitted that it has in no small measure ease the tension in the region, boosted the economic prosperity of the nation and again proved that Nigeria is capable of handling her own internal disputes.