Emami Calls On Buhari To Scrap Amnesty Programme

Chief Ayiri Emami, a former Niger Delta militant leader, has called on president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to scrap the ongoing amnesty programme initiated by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua for ex-militants of the Niger Delta.

Emami, who is now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Delta state and a former Itsekiri warlord, expressed his opinion on Thursday, April 30, Daily Independent reports.

According to ex-militant leader, Buhari should probe the operations of the Amnesty Programme.

“If the layman’s understanding of the word amnesty is anything to go by, then it presupposes an arrangement where militants who genuinely turn in all their arms and ammunition are rehabilitated, re-oriented and trained with a view to reintegrating them to everyday societal living.

“In the ordinary sense of it, any person or group that picks up arms in the name of struggle or agitation ought to have been treated as terrorists, hence nobody or group should take the gesture of the federal government for granted.

READ ALSO: Ex-Militants Warn Against Scrapping GEJ Programmes 

“Amnesty should not be continuous; partially giving out money to youths from a particular ethnic nationality is wrong, sending some of them abroad for training without any visible impact on the Niger Delta and the nation at large is counter-productive,” he said.

Emami made his statement reacting to a recent call by the Ijaw Youth Council, demanding the continuation of the Amnesty Programme for Niger Delta youths.

Meanwile, the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan named reasons why Buhari’s government should not scrap the Presidential Amnesty agenda for ex-militants in the Niger Delta region.

Source: Legit.ng