Ending Amnesty Programme Will Trigger Fresh Crisis in Niger Delta, Clark Warns Tinubu

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Prominent Ijaw leader and elder stateman, Chief Edwin Clark, has advised President Bola Tinubu to ignore calls for the cancellation of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

He said any attempt to discontinue the programme could ignite fresh crisis in the oil rich Niger Delta region of the country.

Clark, who stated this yesterday while addressing journalists in Abuja, appealed to the president to reject the advice of a former governor of Zamfara State, Ahmad Sani, and Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who have been canvassing amnesty for terrorists.

The elder stateman also expressed disappointment in the statement credited to the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja, to the effect that the federal government did not need to grant amnesty to any group of people in the country.

Lagbaja was quoted to have said that beneficiaries of amnesty in the past usually use their compensation to acquire dangerous weapons to cause further havoc.

“I deeply regret the unfortunate statement credited to our newly appointed, most respected Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja on his statement as published in the media.

“I think we need to look at this issue of Amnesty Programmes. The agreement has proven to be incorrigible and so Amnesty has created an avenue for them to re-organise and launch attacks on defenceless citizens. So, I think we need to look at that.

“We also have the issue of the Amnesty Programme that has been instituted, and which has failed not only in the North, but also in many other states. The statement of the Chief of Army Staff comes across to me as a proposal for the scrapping of the amnesty granted to legitimate agitators for a better life and environment by the Niger Delta youths.

“If my understanding is correct, I seriously disagree with the Chief of Army Staff. I will rather advice him to consult through the past records of his former colleagues since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999. Our living condition in the region has worsened. The Presidential Amnesty Programme should be allowed to continue for some more time.

“I wish to advise the federal government to tread cautiously, except they have prepared another ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’. Wake not a sleeping lion. This is not a threat; it is a clarion call for peace.”