Ondo Govt Grants Amnesty To Militants, Give 21 Days For Submission Of Arms 

….We Will Give You Real Militants Not Fake—Olugbo 

By Niyi Olutunde, Akure

Ondo State government has granted amnesty to all Niger/Delta militants from the state with a call on all the militants to embrace the programme.

The state Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu who announced the amnesty in Akure, the state capital during the Official Proclamation of Amnesty for Armed Youths in the Niger-Delta Areas of Ondo State said the state has already opened an amnesty office in Akure.

Akeredolu however said that his administration has created five collation centres in the state for amnesty programme which includes, Igbekebor, Arogbo, Ugbonla, Ajakpa, and Igbokoda.

The governor gave the militants a 21 day ultimatum to surrender their arms at any of the amnesty offices in the state.

Governor Akeredolu who commended the federal government’s support for creating the opportunity to grant amnesty to the armed youths as there would not be developing without peace in Ondo state and Nigeria as a whole.

He maintained that his deputy, Hon Agboola Ajayi has been appointed the chairman of the committee on the amnesty programme, saying that the committee will also work with the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and chairman of the federal government’s amnesty programme.

He urged traditional rulers to support the amnesty programme, just as he called on the militants to embrace the programme in the interest of peace and development of the state.

The militants who were mainly from Ilaje and Ese odo Local Government Areas of the state openly surrendered arms at the event which was attended by the acting governor of Delta State and representative of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta.

Governor Akeredolu said “the state government will henceforth take harsh steps to curtail militancy. Our country cannot continue to be in crisis. It is time we embrace peace and shun crisis.”

He assured that the state government would provide jobs for militants who willingly surrender their arms, adding that the government will also organize trainings for them to make them relevant in the society.

Speaking on behalf of the traditional rulers, the Olugbo of Ugbo Kingdom, Oba Fredrick Akinruntan advised the government to ensure that only authentic militants benefit from the amnesty programme not fake.

His words, “Anything you are going to do please come to our domain. We know the real people, we know those who are carrying arms in our domain. We will give you the real people and not fake. If you come to our domain, we will know how to group our traditional rulers and we will organise the armed Youths not people who are not from Ilaje or Ese Odo local government”.

Oba Akinruntan also stressed the need for the government to appoint only indigenes of the oil producing areas of the state as officials of the amnesty programme.