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From Port Harcourt To Abuja, Rivers Continues Search For Truth
Witnesses want Odili, Sekebo, Rivers Speaker Docked
From Kelvin Ebiri, Port Harcourt
THE Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), in an atmosphere of emotion and anger, continued to hear testimonies and evidences from victims of the crisis that has threatened the peace and stability of the state since 2002.
The Justice Kayode Eso-led commission, which the state government believes is crucial to the healing of wounds inflicted on individuals, families and devastated communities, has, indeed, created an opportunity for victims and by their alleged tormentors to explore avenues for healing and reconciliation.
Last week marked a fresh opening of the wounds of the past by the traumatized people of Okuru-Ama; the family of the slain All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) South-South Coordinator, Marshall Sokari Harry; the Ado Royal House of Okrika; Wakirike Be Se Youth Congress; the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari and others.
All through the week, the names of erstwhile Rivers State governor, Dr. Peter Odili and his Secretary to the State Government between 1999-2003, Dr. Abiye Sekibo resonated. The two were continuously fingered for the crisis that plagues the Okrika axis till this day.
But desirous to create accurate records, ensure transparency and to strike a delicate balance between accountability and forgiveness in order to heal the wounds of the past; Justice Eso announced that the commission would this Tuesday sit in Abuja to avail Odili and Sekibo the opportunity to state their story. This decision has, however, not gone down well with people in the state.
He explained that Odili and Sekibo had given indication of their willingness to appear before the Commission to state their own side of the story. But the duo also expressed reservation over their safety in Port Harcourt hence the choice of Abuja.
Indigenes of the Okuru-Ama community in Port Harcourt, who are demanding the sum of N1 billion as compensation for the destruction of their property and killing of 48 persons by the Ateke Tom militias who sacked the community in 2002; were the first to give testimony last week.
A representative of the community, Chief Bereni Ben Okuru, told the Commission that the former governor and Sekibo authorised the destruction of his community because they provided shelter for the Okrika 'Bush Boys' as well as other Okrika sons and daughters that took refugee at Okuru-Ama as a result of the crisis in Okrika.
He said when Okuru-Ama community leaders met with Odili whose official residence then, the Government House, was less than 10 minutes' drive from the community, to explain their ordeal, Odili feigned ignorance of the destruction of the community.
Odili was alleged to have described the attack as one destined to happen. Okuru disclosed that the community petitioned the Senate, the country's highest legislative body, which sent a delegation to assess the destruction.
According to him, even when former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who brokered a peace deal between the Okrika warring groups in Abuja in 2004, directed Odili to rebuild Okuru-Ama, which security report indicated was innocently attacked by Ateke, he opted to ignore the directives.
Worst still, Okuru stated that when a delegation from Okuru-Ama met the then Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Sekibo, who later became the Minister of Transport, he told them:
"I hope you people have learnt from the example that has been set with your community: that government is next to God and can do and undo."
Following these grave allegations, Eso announced that the Commission would be relocating to Abuja this week to avail Odili, Sekibo and other persons who feel unsafe in Port Harcourt, the opportunity to testimony.
Eso said the evidence that would be given by both Odili and Sekibo was crucial to the Commission, which is working assiduously to ensure that total reconciliation was achieved among feuding parties in the state. "If we have peace in this state (Rivers), there will be peace in the Delta and there will be peace in Nigeria," he said
But the Secretary of the Action Congress in Rivers State, Mr. Okis Bob-Manuel and Dokubo-Asari said it beat their imagination that the two alleged key actors (Odili and Sekibo) in these unfortunate incidents in the state were afraid to testify before the Commission in Port Harcourt but in Abuja.
"In this regard, therefore, we are not in support of the Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission moving to any part of Abuja in order to take the testimonies of both Dr. Peter Odili and Dr. Abiye Sekibo, as we consider that as wastage of public fund," Dokubo-Asari said.
He said he had had discussion with Ateke Tom, who had indicated his willingness to appear before the Commission to give testimony. He promised he was going to arrange for a safe meeting point between the Commission, Ateke, Farah, Soboma George and some other cult heads.
"If you can go to Abuja to hear Odili and others, then you can also arrange where it is convenient for the Ijaws to meet with you and we will protect you there," he added.
STILL at last week's public hearing, the Chairman of the Ado Royal House of Okrika, Chief Igbanichuka James Gilbert, blamed the crisis in Okrika on Odili's desperate bid for a second term in office. He said parts of the state hitherto under the control of opposition parties were visited with state - sponsored violence. This allegation was corroborated also by the President of the Wakirike Be Se Youth Congress, Mr. Miegba Ogan.
"He (Odili) destroyed the villages to such an extent that he was given the title of 'Amafamabo I of Okrika, which means 'the destroyer of Okrika.' Sara Igbe was in charge of security then and did not like what Odili and Sekibo were doing and exposed them in the newspapers," he said.
Chief Gilbert explained that prior to Odili becoming the governor of the state in 1999, there was no militancy or shooting on the streets of the state, stressing, "and this marks out the menace as his (Odili's) own creation."
Grave allegations by one of the sons of the slain Marshall Harry, also prompted the Commission to summon the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Tonye Harry, former Senator, Dr. Ibiapuye Martyns-Yellowe and former Special Adviser to the Rivers State governor on environment, Mr. Ipalibo Harry to appear before it.
Mr. Inye Harry had, on Wednesday, fingered Odili, Sekibo, former President Obasanjo, Tonye Harry and Ipalibo Harry as principal conspirators in the murder of his father on March 5, 2003. He said the murder was politically motivated and that the murderers were Rivers' indigenes, who were sponsored with state funds and machinery.
He explained that his father had series of disagreements with the former governor, as it concerned good governance and security in the state. The deceased had accused Odili of embezzlement and misappropriation of state funds.
Inye Harry recalled that in 2002 when the quarrel between Odili and his father deepened, the ex-governor used the police to frame him up and arraigned him in court over alleged disruption of public peace, defamation of character and the murder of a state lawmaker, Mr. Monday Ndor.
He also alleged that sometimes in February 2003, his father went to the United Kingdom for medical checks. He said that on the eve of his return, Odili spoke with him for about 40 minutes and cautioned him against returning to Nigeria to participate in the flag-off of the ANPP presidential campaign in Port Harcourt on March 8 of the same year.
The late politician, according to Inye, dared Odili and returned to the country a week earlier (March 1) and four days later, he was murdered in his bedroom in Abuja.
Inye said: "Mr. Levy Iboroma, a renowned cultist from Bakana (now late) confided in me that all the logistics arrangement, including the disbursement of funds was handled by the Tonye Harry. He said one Kamaye Briggs (also late) was the one that actually shot my father when he broke into the house.
"The first bullet, according to him (Iboroma), hit my father on the wrist while two more bullets were shot at his stomach, which ripped open his stomach and brought out his intestines. He also told me that a police Prado jeep was used to convey the killers from Port Harcourt to Abuja."
Inye accused the Speaker of conspiring with Odili and Sekibo to murder his father because he desperately wanted to control the political leadership of Degema Local Government Area, which, according to him, was under the firm grip of his father.
He alleged that right from the time of Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM), the Speaker had been under the tutelage of his father till 2002 when his outspoken father opposed his second bid to the State House of Assembly.
Inye also claimed that his father's clamour for a South-South Presidency had pitched him against Obasanjo, which led to plans to silence him.
His mention of Senator Martyns-Yellowe, Inye said, was after the dastardly act, the assassins, who murdered his father at his residence located in Garki area of Abuja, were allegedly housed in the senator's Apo Legislative Quarters residence.
Asked by a member of the Commission, Pastor Shyngle Wigwe, about Martyn-Yellowe's involvement, Inye explained that he was reliably informed that the assassins slept in the Apo residence of the former senator representing Rivers West then.
According to him, "he (Martyn-Yellowe) might have harboured them knowingly or unknowingly since he had a lot of people staying with him. But I didn't say he was aware of the killing."
Inye accused his father's personal assistant, Mr. Ipalibo Harry, who was later appointed as Odili's special adviser on environmental matters in Rivers State, as the person who tricked his father to delay his return to Port Harcourt on the March 4, 2003 until the night he was shot at his home in Abuja.
Dokubo-Asari, who was at the Commission to give testimony on Thursday, said he believed the murders of Dr. Harry and that of former National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), South-South, Chief Aminosoari Kala Dikibo were politically-motivated.
The NDPVF leader, who exonerated the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Tonye Harry from the assassination of Dr Harry, said those behind the murder and several others in the state primarily wanted to perpetuate themselves in power at all cost.
But perturbed by numerous heinous allegations against the former governor, a female Ndoni chief and founder of the Mother/Child Foundation, Adaobi Whyte, came out strongly to defend Odili at the Commission.
She said that her findings on the root causes of the crisis in Rivers State and Niger Delta, dates back to 1993, six years before Odili became governor. "I know Odili from his birth till he became an orphan and later governor. I don't think the Odili I know can be involved in these."
She blamed the crisis plaguing Rivers on the seeming disconnect between the parents, guardians and their children leading to the degeneration of values and morals. She argued that parents and guardians had neglected their roles, hence, the decision of youths to take the laws into their hands.
On the way forward, Dokubo-Asari said peace could be achieved in Rivers State within 24 hours if only "(Governor) Amaechi, Odili, Ada-George and this one that was sacked by the Supreme Court, (Celestine) Omehia and all those who have ruled the State should come together and reconcile for the sake of the State.
"If Governor Amaechi wants peace now, within 24 hours, there will be peace. I don't believe in importing people to come and reconcile us. The problem of the Niger Delta is between Ijaws and Ikwerre and we can settle among ourselves if they want peace," he said.
Source: The Guardian, 15th June 2008.
Rivers police recover N335m from militants
Written by Jimitota Onoyume
RIVERS State Police Command yesterday recovered three hundred and thirty five million naira from some militants after an exchange of gun fire that lasted about two hours.
According to the commander of the Mobile Police force in the state who led his men, C.S.P. Garuba Umaru he said a bullion van escorted by police was attacked around Obehi in Abia State by about thirty heavily armed militants.
And one of his inspectors attached to the van quickly gave him a distress call, thus causing him to mobilise eight armoured personnel carrier and about fifty men to the scene. And they later caught up with the fleeing militants. During the exchange of fire that followed he said one of the militants was killed while the others escaped.
“I received a distress call from one of my inspectors that a company, Excel was bringing money into Port Harcourt and was attacked. We left to the scene at Egbema aser. And caught up with them at Obehi. There was exchange of fire between us and the boys. We ran our APC into their vehicles to demobilized them”
Adding, the state Police PRO, Mrs. Rita Inoma Abbey said the money was withdrawn from Spring Bank, Aba road branch in Aba . She said the Operation’s manager of the bank; Mr. Oyegoke Hassan Toba said the bullion van had two escorts, the banks cashier and drivers of the various vehicles. A total of twenty five police men escorted the bullion van.
She continued that five hundred pieces of ammunition, two general purpose machine guns with three hundred rounds and seven AK47 were among weapons recovered from the hoodlums. She said they were about thirty of them. And that the hoodlums had three vehicles, a jeep, bus and another.
There were fears that the hoodlums laid ambush for the bullion van
At press time, the police were still arranging the fifteen sack of money in their operation vehicles.
Meanwhile, one Chijioke Steward who was paraded by the police at its headquarters while briefing on the bullion van incident was on said he knew nothing about the robbery. According to him, his car with registration number RV 6232 VD was snatched from him by some gunmen. They later dumped him at a forest and fled off.
He said while he was trying to find his way out of the forest he ran into security operatives who arrested him.
He said he was on his way to Opobo with his female friend. And he works with the sticker session of the state environmental sanitation body.
Vanguard gathered that two police men attached to the bullion van sustained bullet injuries during the exchange of fire.
Source: Vanguard, 12th June 2008.
Rivers Truth Commission:Son fingers OBJ, Odili in Marshall Harry's death
Written by George Onah
SON of the late Chief Marshall Sokari Harry, Inye, yesterday told the Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission that his father’s death in Abuja was masterminded by former Governor Peter Odili and former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He also named the current Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Tonye Harry (Degema), as “a third hand in the killing of my father. Obasanjo’s anger was because my father challenged his second term bid.”
Inye also mentioned a confidant of his father, Mr. Ipalibo Harry, who got a political appointment as Special Adviser to Odili on Environment, as one of those who took part in the death of Marshall Harry.
In a 12-page handwritten document presented to the commission, Inye said: “In simple language, Dr. Peter Otunaya Odili, the former governor of Rivers State, master-minded the death of my father in collaboration with Obasanjo.
“The reason for Dr. Odili’s criminal act is simple: his political boss, Dr. Marshall Harry, had by his (Odili’s) own calculation become a thorn in the flesh due to his consistent opposition to his (Odili’s) policies.”
“At every available opportunity, my father spoke openly and freely against Dr. Odili’s approach to governance, especially in the areas of development and security. This was Odili’s problem with my father. He felt that my father’s approach had become critically over-bearing.
“In late 2002, the quarrel between Odili and my father deepened until it got to a point where my father was locked up by the police on the instruction of the ex-governor on framed-up charges, running from disruption of public peace, defamation of character and the murder of one Monday Ndor.
“He was charged to court and later remanded in prison custody. Human rights organisations within and outside Nigeria cried foul and he was released afterwards though the charges were not dropped.
“As an obedient and law-abiding citizen, he was going to court to face these charges until his death. As a matter of fact, he was killed when the case was still on adjournment.
“Odili felt there was no need anymore for such legal journeys and opted for a short cut by spearheading the assassination of a true Rivers son whom he swore, ironically, to protect.”
Inye recalled that “on February 25, 2003, the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) (which Harry had decamped to) applied to Rivers State Stadia Authority for permission to make use of the Port Harcourt Liberation Stadium for the party’s presidential rally.
“The Odili administration in an attempt to frustrate the exercise raised the fee from N800,000 paid by PDP, a fortnight earlier to N7.5 million and a security deposit of five million naira.
“My father wrote to the police on this and also warned Rivers indigenes to take preventive measures of their lives. The rally was billed for March 8, 2003, three days before the assassination.
“In the letter, my father wrote ‘we know that Peter Odili does not care a hoot about shedding the blood of innocent Rivers indigenes, but we do care and will not allow this blood letting to continue, that is why we are alerting you to take preventive measures.”
“Marshall was also very strongly opposed to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s second tenure bid because of what he referred to as the former president’s high handedness. Besides, he said a second term for Obasanajo ran counter to his campaign for the number one seat to move to South-South. He passionately pitched his tent for this through his pet project CRESSOP
“Therefore, when Dr, Peter Odili mooted the idea of killing my dad and sold it to Obasanjo he gladly accepted it since that would serve his own purpose of having easy walk through Rivers State. He reasoned that the opposition in the state would be greatly weakened without my father. Immediately Odili got the nod from Obasanjo, he summoned Dr. Abiye Sekibo, the executioner-in-chief of the Odili murderous gang.
Dr. Sekibo who was the then Secretary to the State Government had control over a huge number of cultists in the state. So it was easy for him to put the boys together for the action
“It took about six weeks between planning, monitoring and execution. The initial plan was to kill him here in Port Harcourt, but on considering the consequences and the violence that might ensue from that the killing field was shifted to Abuja , which probably explains the delay in carrying out the plan.
“One Levy Iboroma, a renowned cultist from Bakana, confided in me that all the logistic arrangements, including the disbursement of funds were handled by Tonye Harrry.
He said one Kamaye Briggs was the one that actually shot my father when they broke into the house.
“The first bullet, according to him, hit my father on the wrist while two more bullets were shot at his stomach, which ripped open his stomach and brought out his intestines.
“He also told me that a police Prado Jeep was used to carry the killers from Port Harcourt to Abuja . That the assassins and their police accomplices left Port Harcourt at about 6 p.m. on March 4, 2003 and drove all night to Abuja .
“My father was killed in an otherwise high security area at no. 28B Karaye Close, Garki Abuja in the early hours of March 5th 2003. Around Karaye Close are the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Printing and Minting.
But surprisingly, no security personnel showed up for close to two hours after my father was held hostage by the hired assassins. Only the Almighty God knows what happened to my father’s cell phone on the day of the incidence.
“Let me quickly mention also that Tonye Harry, the third hand in the assassination of my father was given the Assembly seat for Degema Constituency on a platter of gold, through the sole effort of Marshall Harry who was then the state party chairman of the PDP.
“Tonye as the then Deputy Speaker of the House contacted Mr. Ipalibo Harry whom he felt would be more competent to carry out the spying on my dad because of his position as personal assistant and a close confidant.
“Ipalibo Harry had an unfettered access to my father. He could walk into my dad’s bedroom even when he was naked. They had a father-son relationship. My dad in his usual style reached out to him generously, he even bought cars for him and his wife and rented an apartment for him which he also furnished.
“Another source of information which I fell morally constrained to mention here told me that the legally licensed gun (pump action), which my father always kept in the bedroom was removed more than a week before he arrived Abuja by Ipalibo Harry."
Source: Vanguard, 12th June 2008.
In search of Peace In Rivers
By Abraham Ogbodo (Deputy Political Editor)
FOR five hours, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi was in the witness box returning, avoiding, and in some instances, absorbing all the verbal arrows aimed at him by learned counsel. The occasion was the first public hearing of the Justice Kayode Eso-headed Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Rivers State. A chunk of the counsel also sounded unlearned with their questions and that was why the Governor's counsel, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had to stay very close by to assist his client to just smile in the face of copious provocation.
Some of the counsel kept going back to questions that were answered and properly rested when lawyer to the commission, Chuma Boms, took the governor through a two-hour drill. Twice or more, the governor had to say: "My Lordship, I have answered that question and I have nothing more to add."
The lawyers appeared more interested in the material benefits of the reconciliation process than the larger issue of peace for all in Rivers State. And so the point on compensation of victims of the lingering crisis refused to leave the commission's chambers easily even when the governor stuck tenaciously to the same line: That it would be difficult, if not impossible, to quantify the damage in all its ramifications and establish an equitable basis for payment of compensation to victims by government.
He illustrated: "A man wrote a mere petition that somebody should not be cleared for a ministerial post. He received threats that whether or not the nominee was cleared, he would be dealt with. Even though the nominee got the ministerial job eventually, some persons went to the man's house, brought him out and shot him dead before his children. Tell me, how do you compensate the emotional trauma that those children went through?"
There was silence. The point appeared too heavy for a counter argument. It quickly arranged the ground for the governor to build his next attack. He came down hard on the traditional leadership, which he accused of abdicating and allowing youths infinite space to pollute the sociological order. "When the youths took guns and killed one, two, three persons what did the elders and elite of the communities do?" he asked nobody in particular.
Governor Amaechi was enjoying his own presentation and domination of the air around. He interjected a dose of Ikwerre proverbs to underscore his point. "Monkeys jump in excitement in the day when trees are being cut down but become sober at night when they discover that there are no more trees to act as bedrooms."
The governor insisted that the issue of pardon for persons wanted to answer criminal charges should be carefully managed so that the elders do not convey the wrong impression to the unpolluted generation of Rivers' children. He introduced another Ikwerre proverb to strengthen the argument: "A man should not murder your father and also dictate to you how to bury him." In reference here are Ateke Tom, Soboma George and Fara Dagogo, who have been declared wanted by the police for alleged acts of violence.
One Onengiya Erekosima, speaking on behalf of the Niger Delta Non-Violent Movement (NDNVM), almost pushed the case for amnesty too far. He narrated efforts by the movement to involve the President of the Senate, David Mark, in the peace process in Rivers State. He said his organisation could not go too far because the governor did not only deny it support, but also frustrated a planned meeting between Senator Mark and Ateke Tom. He sounded sanctimonious and that only succeeded in hardening the governor's resolve to make people that have sinned to pay for their sins. "Pardon or amnesty can only come after due trial and conviction," he said with magisterial finality.
Governor Amaechi was alert and cut the right image. He had answers to all the questions. Even when Mr. Boms tried a few times to provide some protection, saying the governor was only a witness and not on trial, Justice Eso would posit the contrary. "His Excellency is gallant enough and does not need assistance," the chairman declared in two instances. It was only when questioners took undue advantage of the liberties offered by the commission to step out of decorum in addressing the governor that he raised the point of decency in articulation and presentation by speakers. At such times, Justice Eso would ask Fagbemi to come between the governor and the difficult speakers to straighten the points. Once, Fagbemi told a fellow to "draw a line between presentation of grievances and open rascality."
Another fellow, who could not give precise information as to whether his organisation - Association of Oil and Gas Host Communities - was duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) was asked to go home and return another day after he must have put his act together. Before then, the fellow had struggled for some 10 minutes to articulate the provisions of section 162 of the 1999 Constitution and the need for the Rivers State Government to transmit the 13 per cent derivation fund paid by the Federal Government down to the actual communities that produce oil in the state.
Earlier, one lawyer, while making case for compensation for victims of the crisis, added that for peace to reign, the state government should establish a commission fashioned after the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) and similar things in Ondo and Edo States, to directly use the 13 per cent derivation fund to develop the oil communities in the state. But the governor told the commission that he had refused to jump on the bandwagon of replicating at the state level what the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was established to handle across the region.
He said: "Every council area in the state produces oil and we do not require a special commission to dispense development in certain areas and leave out other areas. My promise is that government by way of development will visit every community in the state, no matter the challenges, while I remain governor. After four years, you can now hold me down to my promises."
Emphasis was laid on road network to access communities in the state. "No matter the topography and other difficulties, we shall make all communities in the state accessible," he said, adding, "where it is difficult to connect with roads, we shall provide alternative means."
All through, Governor Amaechi maintained that peace would automatically return to the troubled state when laws are enforced against those who break them with impunity. This is precisely why he is not impressed by arguments that those who committed heinous crimes against the people and the state should be offered blanket freedom in the spirit of the ongoing reconciliation process. "When a man shoots another and gets away, even with some reward, the next man will be encouraged to shoot two so that he can receive double rewards," he said.
THE new song, fortunately, is sinking down well. Perhaps, for the first time since 1999, there is a will on the part of government to stamp out youth gangsterism and cult violence in the oil-rich state. Now, there is a pleasant reversal of roles and the Port Harcourt ruthless hunters have completed full circle and have become the hunted. The story in town is that Ateke Tom and his likes, who, once upon a time, dictated the pace of life in Port Harcourt and spelt out the rules of official engagement, are at the receiving end. And many people are happy. "They are desperately begging to return and live like other human beings in the state," said one man at the public hearing last Wednesday.
Evenso, the governor has remained fully on guard. It is not impossible that the hitmen are only angling for some breathing space to re-organise and take back the initiative from government. Last July, there was celebration in Okrika, the hot-bed of the Rivers crisis, when some 10 cult groups including Ateke's, willingly - or so it had seemed - renounced violence before television cameras and promised to make the war-torn Okrika community peaceful and progressive again. However, something snapped in less than four weeks after the celebrated peace proclamation and violence returned even at a more ferocious scale with the ascendancy of a new warlord called Soboma George.
This is why Amaechi is taking all the time to look through the peace proposals from the other end with his eyes wide open. He is particularly troubled by the moral dilemma of granting unqualified access to men who have been certified killers by the public and relevant security agencies.
In all, what is yielding fruits in the search for solution is the iron-cast determination of Governor Amaechi to level everybody, including the dreaded warlords, before the law. "The law must be enforced against both the lowly and highly placed in society," he said, stressing, "once that is achieved, there will be law and order in this part of the world."
He was, however, technically led by Justice Eso to give a commitment that all alleged fugitives of the law - and these include Ateke Tom, Fara Dagogo and Soboma George - would be granted freedom to appear before the commission to state their own sides of the story.
Amaechi is apparently looking back in anger. His answers at the public hearing were largely measured but the underlying tonal resentment was palpable. He is carrying on with the Puritanism of Oliver Cromwell and what readily comes across is the image of a moral puritan, who is refusing to bend the rules to accommodate sentimental considerations. "How do I tell my son that he will be punished if he steals and kills? It is by punishing people who steal or kill so that he learns the right lessons from me."
He is enthusiastic about effecting a change and he is assigning everybody a role in the drive towards a regenerated Rivers State. He said: "Elders should organise the youths into vigilante groups to protect the common heritage. I did it in my community and others should take cue. If government agrees to pay compensation to victims, there will be no end to the list of victims. Some communities will declare wars on themselves, destroy their houses and then ask government to pay compensation. This is why the task of security should start first with the people. No government can offer peace and security when the people are unwilling, except, of course, we are talking of the enforcement of graveyard peace."
The issues dragged as many speakers tried to push the governor to modify his position on the payment of compensation. When it looked like an unending discourse, Justice Eso had to step in to create a middle ground. "Compensation could be paid in cases found deserving by the commission," he suggested. The governor accepted.
He also accepted to abide by the report of the commission and even added that a committee headed by Chief Albert Horsfall had already been constituted to implement the recommendations of the commission. "I cannot bring together eminent personalities such as members of this commission for mere fun of it," he said.
Actually, the governor needed to reassure the commission because someone in the audience had noted that government never acted upon the report of a commission on similar matters in the past.
For now, all privileges and rights of unearthing the remote and immediate causes of the Rivers crisis and the way forward have been surrendered to the Justice Kayode Eso-led commission. When the commission is done, it will be possible to establish the roles politicians and their bands of followers played in degrading the once Garden City of Port Harcourt to a groaning city.
Source: The Guardian, 8th June 2008.
'My Lord, This Is My Pledge'
BY CHIBUIKE ROTIMI AMAECHI
THE idea of setting up a Truth and reconciliation commission in Rivers State has been on my mind for some time. During my tenure as the speaker of the River State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007, I became increasingly worried by the use of firearms by our youths to settle all types of grievances either for themselves or on behalf of their sponsors.
I had cause to take up these issues with the then Governor. I then came up with the idea of enactingSecret Cults Law, which regrettably has been honoured more in breach than observance.
Last year witnessed, perhaps, one of the most dangerous periods in the history of the state.
I personally had to take refuge outside the shores of this country for the fear of being assassinated when I was pursuing my political ambition to be the Governor of the state.
In the course of my sojourn abroad, I had cause to reflect on the happenings in the state. After consultations, I came to the conclusion that the best way to achieve relative peace in the State was the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, modeled after the South African experience where people would be free to appear and ventilate their grievances. It is my fervent hope that this process will enable all aggrieved to make known their grievances and hoplefully help restore peace in the state.
My submissions
a. I have read a synopsis of most of the memoranda submitted to the Commission. I have noted the persons against whom direct accusations have been levelved. I believe and hope that each of those persons will have the courage and decency to appear before your Commission to defend themselves.
On my own part, I wish to state without any fear of contradiction or equivocation that:
1. I have never organized, conspired, sponsored or armed any person or persons to attack or initmidate or assassinate any person either before 1999 or thereater.
2. I have never conspired or arranged with any other person or persons to buy arms or arm any person or groups of persons to use unlawful means to achieve any political or economic objective.
3. I have never used or approved the use of any armed groups of thugs to win elections. Indeed I won my first election through the court and my election as Governor was also won through the court.
In memo submitted Rotimi Amaechi Governorship Frontline Supporters (RAGOFS) the following passage recurs: (at page 4 thereof)
" The present Governor now drums is clear that he is not a private governor to any body. According to him, " I don't owe anybody any form of loyalty for being a Governor" but he was loyal to former Governor Odili as Speaker for eight years and even loyal to a fault where funds meant for governance and infrastructures development of the state were carelessly lavished and nothing happened form the House in respect to accountablility - A House headed By Amaechi"
2. it is true that during the eight years that I was Speaker, I was loyal to Dr. Odili, the governor. My loyality to him was borne out of respect to him as the Governor and also as leader of the party, PDP in the state. I am a firm believer in party discipline. He was also my political mentor having been associated with him for a long time after my graduation. I certainly cannot deny the fact that he has been influential in my life.
It is however not true to say that I was loyal to a fault, that I did nothing in respect of the governance of the state as the speaker by not calling on Dr. Odili to account. As a loyal party member and also a strong believer in party discipline, I did not consider it prudent to be confrontational.
What I did and indeed the House of Assembly did during Dr. Odili's administration was to quietly and subtly draw his attention to what we considered not in consonance with good governance which he promptly rectified. We adopted this approach taking into consideration the political and social situation in the state in order not to over heat the already charged atmosphere. Throughout the period of Dr. Odili's tenure, I was considered to be indpeendent - minded. This explains why I later went through all my tribulations. I spoke against using cult groups for election; that was why in my local government area there were no cult ghroups even up till now. It is because I do not have any cult groups or that I have not sponsored any that I am able, as governor, to openly declare war on cult groups. You will observe that in none of the memoranda sent to you have I been accused, either directly or remotely of being the godfather or any cult group.
I am a true Rivers State man and proudly so. I believe that Rivers State money should be judiciously used for the benefit of all who reside and do business in Rivers State. As speaker, adequate provision was made for the development of the State. It is my intention, God willing, that druing my tenure as Governor, sustainable foundation will be laid for the development of this state and the improvement and welfare of the citizens. This is my solemn pledge to my people.
Recommendations To Be Made By The Commission
I shall refrain from sugesting any form of recommendation to be made by the commission at the conclusion of your assignment as it would amount to pre-judging your final recommendations.
I will only say at this stage that governorment will seriously consider your recommendations and take such decision as will help restore peace in the state.
Source: The Guardian, 8th June 2008.
There Must Be A Way Out, says Eso
By Justice Kayode Eso
ON the 29th November 2007, the Governor and Chief Executive of the Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Sir. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi set up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with the following Terms of Reference:
1. To search for and identify in full, the nature of the discontent.
2. To identify the grievances and the remote and immediate causes, which have given rise to and resulted in the acts of killing, maiming, kidnapping, cultism and intra-cultism wars.
3. To examine in detail the extent of the damage that has been done to the people and projects and also to the degree of damage to peace and concord in the state.
4. To identify the various factions and people who have been involved in fostering the discontent.
5. To examine and advise on the ways and means to reconcile the various factions towards bringing peace, amity and concord among all concerned.
6. To advise upon a mechanism by which such reconciliation could be maintained and retained as a permanent feature in the state.
7. To make any other findings and/or recommendations, which the Commission may consider necessary.
The seven of us, here on this podium, were appointed into the Commission with my humble self as the chairman.
The first duty of the members was to make a call to the public for Memoranda in line with the above itemised Terms of Reference. In all, we have already received over 200 memoranda. We have also received responses from those who have been referred to in some of the memoranda.
The context of the memoranda, which we have received, has gone a long way for anyone to come to a conclusion that all is certainly not well with the Delta, the economic pivot of the nation and except something is done drastically and urgently, this country is sitting on "kegs of powder."
In the Memoranda with us, some people have been named as insurgents; there have been accusations made against politicians that they went a long way in empowering the insurgents for their political gain. In others, discontent has been shown by the insurgents - so-called, who have accused the government and their officials of ruling without the least consideration for the people.
Open and veiled wars have been unleashed on the innocent citizens. Most importantly, the problem has given rise to international recognition of the dastardly situation and its effect on world economy. Oil producing corporations have been made to suffer both in manpower and materials. Indeed, the effect of the insurgency is already radiating globally and the unprecedented rise in oil prices is being associated with this unrest in the region, which has become an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
There must be a way out, or at least visible attempts must be made to ease the tension that is succeeding in paralysing the economy of the nation.
It is with this background, that we view the problems in our mission. It is a difficult mission, yet it must be turned into "a mission impossible." And for this attempt, we are proud to have been given this assignment, difficult as it is. And we congratulate His Excellency, the Governor who has decided to give the problem a thought and also to honour us with this assignment. It is a commendable effort to get out of a terrible logjam.
In so far as the members of this Commission are concerned, we believe we are on a very serious mission. This is not and will not be turned into a public show of "I forgive you" "I also forgive you" full stop, merely for television propaganda. We believe, and we will adhere to it, that the ultimate aim of the Commission is to broker peace among all sides - peace, which they must rely upon.
For this purpose, we hereby declare that: we are not a witch-hunting Commission. We are not a trap, set to lure in the insurgents, so-called, for accountability. We do not intend to promote or aggravate old scores. We will call in all parties to the crisis to say their piece.
The Truth part of our mission is to identify what has gone wrong, where it has, and who are the playing artists. The Reconciliation part is to have all together reconciled, all of different political associations not repeat, not necessarily to any single political party, but to reconcile all to have a united and common front to tackle the problems of insurgency.
The insurgency so-called should be free to speak their minds, set out their demands and be willing to live together in a peaceful society.
No statement made by anybody, and this includes the insurgents so-called, shall be used against him either in civil or criminal proceedings. This is merely a re-statement of what the Rivers State Law has prescribed.
Security
Now, there must be guaranteed security for anyone whom we have invited into this Commission. His Excellency has assured us that no one, and this includes old political foes or perceived opponents, and even the insurgents, so-called, will be molested. All must be guaranteed safe passage to and fro. Even more still, we will demand assurance from the Federal Government agencies through his Excellency that all of the above must be guaranteed free passage to and fro.
There must be no accident, either by fault or default. This is necessary, having regard to the representations we have received and the fears, justifiable fears, expressed. On the same score, the insurgents, so-called, shall pledge peace, perfect peace, during this exercise. This is the only way that all sides could be heard in consonance with human rights and rule of law.
We do hope that by the time we conclude this exercise, we will be in a position to recommend amnesty to those insurgents now so-called, who would have earned it and be prepared, truthfully, to lay down their arms and be integrated full into the society.
Source: The Guardian, 8th June 2008.
Through Blood To A River Of Peace
By Abraham Ogbodo (Deputy Political Editor)
DEMOCRACY came with a thick cloud of terror over Rivers State that has refused to completely clear after nine years. Stakeholders were worried but none exhibited a determination to free the atmosphere of fear. The situation threw up all manners of observers who analysed and situated the crisis in much of the Niger Delta in various contexts depending on who offered the analysis. The only point of agreement among the commentators was that the problem took roots with politics in 1999.
Like all ugly things, the problem started small and turned malignant when nobody did anything about it. At first, the now hardened warlords of the creeks were isolated bands of local vigilantes who defended their respective communities against invaders. At least that was the case in Okrika where the 'Bush Boys' returned home to render neighbourhood security after the Eleme-Okrika communal clash.
This time, politics had not slapped the face of people in Rivers State. However, at the dawn of the power game in 1999, the 'Bush Boys' transformed most willingly into a ready army and put themselves at the services of politicians who desired to use them to settle political scores. The main story, nonetheless, was that the boys, headed by Ateke Tom, were very useful in dislodging the PDP opponents in the Okrika axis. A co-ordinate group headed by Mujahid Dokubo-Asari worked ruthlessly in the Kalabari axis to create space also for the PDP.
But somewhere along the bloody voyage, something got out of place and the two 'armies' in Okrika and Kalabari started driving in different directions. One version said Dokubo-Asari got too powerful for the comfort of occupants of the Government House, Port Harcourt. Ateke Tom was, thus, unleashed on him to bring him down to a more manageable size.
Dokubo-Asari's attempt to remain intact and secure his territory precipitated the first gang war in Rivers State. It was strictly a battle for supremacy between Ateke Tom, who controlled the land and Dokubo-Asari, who had been pushed to the creeks.
Midway in that campaign, Dokubo-Asari chanced on a better purpose for war than politics. He expanded his own vision and anchored his struggle on the fundamental issues of the Niger Delta region. He transformed himself from an outlaw into a fighter for resource control and better deal in the Niger Delta.
One source said Felix Tuodolo, former President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), "assisted tremendously" in articulating this new ideological platform for Dokubo-Asari. He held tenaciously to the new vision and as against a warring cult leader, he was reported extensively in both national and international media as "Nigerian Rebel leader and minority rights fighter." He changed drastically his mode of operation. Instead of looking for people to maim and kill, he threatened to blow up oil facilities in the creeks and cripple the Nigerian economy if the Federal Government refused to listen.
The State Government never told the truth about the issue at play but somehow, former President Obasanjo managed to obtain a clearer picture from a different channel. "Obasanjo concluded the boys were being used to serve selfish interests," said a source. This was when the Federal Government decided on a truce instead of using force to hunt down Dokubo-Asari and his men in the creeks.
Peace activist, Prof. Judith Asuni, Ogoni leader, Ledum Mitee and current Managing Director of The Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC), Timi Alaibe were contracted to create a channel to bring all the warring gangs to Abuja. This culminated in the celebrated peace deal between the Federal Government and the two main fighters - Ateke Tom and Dokubo-Asari in 2004.
But Dokubo-Asari, who, by his activities, had gained national and international limelight, had also become larger than his real size. He refused to abide by the terms of the agreement. He shot recklessly from all sides of his mouth. He made headlines with threats of insurrection if the Federal Government failed to address the age-long neglect of the oil-rich Niger Delta.
He literally talked himself into trouble with the Federal Government and was arrested in 2005 and charged with attempts to overawe the government.
His incarceration for some two years set the stage for the next performance of the macabre dance in the Niger Delta. A coalition called MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) introduced dimensions hitherto not contemplated. Expatriate oil workers were taken hostage at frequent intervals. Oil facilities were attacked. MEND, which was and is still difficult to trace to any organised structure, claimed responsibilities for most of these violent acts.
Dokubo-Asari's continued incarceration by the authorities automatically created a better platform for the new crusaders (MEND) to intensify anti-government activities. The movement demanded the release of Dokubo-Asari, who had been put on trial for treason, as a pre-condition for cessation of hostilities against the Federal Government interests. It added the release of the impeached Bayelsa State Governor, DSP Alamieyeseigha, who was standing trial for money laundering.
Both men have since been let off the look but nothing significantly has changed. Now the arrest and trial of one Henry Okah, described as MEND's leader, has offered fresh reasons for the round of violence in the Niger Delta to continue. After nine years, the issues have become very confused. It is difficult to separate persons, who are in the struggle for a better Niger Delta, from criminals who see the sustained disorder as an opportunity to help themselves.
Some say persons engaged in illegal bunkering of petroleum products are in the centre of the violence in the regions. Many theories aimed at containing the problems have been propounded but none has offered lasting solutions. In July last year, all the cult gangs in the troubled Okrika Community agreed in a historic declaration to stay off violence and remain on the path of peace. That did not work.
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, who promised so much in his pre-election statements regarding the region, is taking so much time to make a definite move. The President has been promising to convoke a Niger Delta Summit, which has taken more than one year to plan without any concrete event on the table. Vice President Goodluck Jonathan is said to be co-ordinating the summit.
At one forum recently, elder statesman and Ijaw leader, Chief E.K Clark, said enough had been said on the Niger Delta and what was required was action. He said it would serve government better to act on things already proposed and save time from going into another endless submit.
The reality, all the same, is that the issues have become so diffused that nobody can place hand on an effective solution. Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State described it as "the booming crime industry" at the first public hearing of the state's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Hostage takers are part of the industry. Those who brokered the release of the victims for a ransom are also part of the industry; and persons, who provide safe custody for captives, are the other strands of the industry.
Amaechi himself is incapacitated even as a governor. "My Lord, if I have all the answers, I will not create this Commission to assist in the search for solutions," he told Justice Kayode Eso, chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In anger, he called central actors in Rivers' crisis "criminals" but Justice Eso said they should be addressed as "insurgents" for the purpose of the ongoing peace search in Port Harcourt.
Over time, new and more deadly actors have shown up in the Niger Delta theatre of war. They are mainly masked and unknown and so the names that keep recurring are Dokubo-Asari and Ateke Tom. Soboma George and Farra Dagogo are latter day additions. These names no longer retain their deadly striking capacities after a sustained government onslaught to dislodge them. In fact, Dokubo-Asari is a born-again and lives in Abuja and seen more among top government officials than he is seen among the ordinary people of the Niger Delta. One resident said last week in Port Harcourt that "Asari has been settled."
This has not translated into absolute peace in Port Harcourt and elsewhere in Niger Delta region. It tells effectively that there are more unknown warlords in the area than they are known. The Justice Eso commission does not have the mandate to catch warlords; it is only asked to work out ways at achieving peace in Rivers State. When that is done, the task will roll back to Governor Amaechi to deliver good governance so that known and unknown warlords will be converted into part of the workforce of Rivers State.
Source: The Guardian, 8th June 2008.
Amaechi Faults NDDC's Work In Rivers
FROM: Kelvin Ebiri
THE Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has not done enough projects in Rivers State compared to other states within the commission's mandate area, despite its status as the highest oil and gas producing state, Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, has said.
Speaking during a Town Hall meeting with the people of Opobo/Nkoro, at the King Jaja Square, yesterday, Amaechi said his administration had already taken up the matter with the Commission.
He disclosed to the people of the area, who lamented the absence of the NDDC projects in the area, that the state government has awarded a N3 billion contract for the sand filling of Opobo new layout to enhance the development of the area.
He said the government has already mobilized the contractor to the tune of 30 per cent of the total contractual sum and urged the people to monitor the project and give the contractor conducive atmosphere to execute the project.
According to him, projects such as the Trans-Kalabari Road and Okrika Ring Road were being delayed as a result of the activities of criminals in the areas.
He urged the people of the area to partner with the state government to check criminality, pointing out that the moral decadence among youths in the society was high, and urged parents to discharge their responsibilities of bringing up their children with the fear of God.
The Governor also announced the donation of 300KVA generator to Opobo Town, and randomly selected five persons to constitute Opobo Electricity Committee that would manage the process, to ensure that the generator is properly utilized.
The Chairman of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Council, Mr. MacLean Uranta, said it was the first time in the history of the area that a Town Hall meeting with a state governor would take place.
Source: The Guardian, 8th June 2008.
Anti-terrorist operatives comb Port Harcourt for kidnappers
By IBANGA ISINE and JIDE BABALOLA
THE anti-terrorist operatives deployed by the Federal Government have started combing parts of Port Harcourt in search of kidnappers.
Currently, the operatives have been sighted near major entry points to the city as well as churches, the Port Harcourt Mosque, schools and supermarkets.
The Nigeria Police High Command had early last month, deployed anti-terrorist squads in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Lagos to forestall activities of terrorists in the country.
It also established new Mobile Police Squadrons in many parts of the country, bringing the number to 54.
The new commissioner in charge of the Rivers State Police Command, Mr. Balla Hassan, had told newsmen shortly after he resumed duties that the squad posted to the state was already in Port Harcourt.
Hassan said some of them would soon embark on further training to sharpen their skills.
But investigation by our correspondent showed that the operatives had been posted to all the high risk areas of the city just as kidnapping has abated during the last one week.
Spotted in new and well-starched riot police uniform, the operatives have a shoulder armband which distinguishes them from their other colleagues.
One of the distinctive features of their uniform is a red armband with a white inscription, ”ATS” meaning, Anti Terrorist Squad.
They also brandish AK 47 riffles and other new and sophisticated guns carried by soldiers.
Over eight of the operatives were seen along the East/West Road towards the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.
Our correspondent reported that the clean-looking operatives flagged down every vehicle plying the road and carefully looked inside before waving them on.
However, some drivers were ordered to pull off the road for a thorough search, where the operatives suspected the occupants.
For instance, a vehicle with tinted glasses bearing the Rivers State Government House number plate which was apparently returning to Port Harcourt was ordered to pull off the road.
Apparently angry over the audacity of the policemen, some of the occupants of the vehicle, sought to know why they were being asked to stop.
Calmly but firmly, one of the operatives said, “Sorry, sir, we are here on an assignment. I don‘t know who you are, but you must realise that nobody is above the law.
“We want to search this vehicle, sir. So please cooperate with us and clear your car.”
With these words, the driver immediately pulled up and two of the operatives started searching the car.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs. Rita Inom-Abey confirmed the report.
Abey said the operatives spotted along the East/West Roads and other entry points to Port Harcourt, were men of the ATS.
She also confirmed that the operatives had been posted to schools, churches and major supermarkets in the city.
She said, ”The Anti-Terrorist Squad formed by the IGP are to fight cases of incessant kidnappings in the state. They have also been deployed in Lagos, Abuja and Kano.
”Right now in Port Harcourt, they have been deployed in churches, mosques, schools, supermarkets, airport and major roads. With their presence, we believe that cases of kidnappings will stop.”
But the Police Headquarters preferred to put a shroud of ambiguity over the operation and deployment of members of its Anti Terrorist Squad.
On Saturday evening, police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Agberebi Akpoebi, told our correspondent to disregard reports that the ATS unit was conducting operations in Port Harcourt or any other part of the country.
Akpoebi, an assistant Commissioner of Police, said no unit had been deployed for operations as they are still undergoing special training.
”Please listen to me. I am not aware of any operation by police anti-terrorist unit. Those in the anti-terrorist unit are still undergoing on-the-job training; they are not being deployed for any operation at this moment,” he said.
He said that except for the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, no police officer could state the definite date that members of the unit would be deployed in various states of the federation.
”I do not know when the deployments would begin; it is only the Inspector-General of Police that can tell you that. When you are training people in different aspects of a particular strategy, until the training is complete, you cannot deploy.
”So, you should not ask me about when members of the police anti-terrorist squad will be deployed. I don‘t know,” Akpoebi stated.
Source: Punch, 8th June 2008.
Lecturer, nursing mother, 2 others killed in Uniport cult war
From HENRY CHUKWURAH, PortHarcourt
Four persons including a senior lecturer and a nursing mother were killed on Tuesday in a cult-related shooting at the University of PortHarcourt (UNIPORT), Rivers State.
The other two persons were said to be members of the rampaging cult group who were gunned down by policemen as they made their escape.
Apart from the dead, several persons including a professor and three security staffers of the university sustained gun shot injuries. gathered that eight suspected cultists on four motorcycles carried out the attack in the morning hours.
They were said to have first shot at the university’s chief security officer, but he narrowly escaped being hit.
Apparently angered that they missed their target, the cultists shot indiscriminately and in the process, felled a senior lecturer in the Department of Education, Dr. Ozuzu Ikenzan and an unidentified nursing mother.
However, policemen who were drafted to the scene gave the cultists hot pursuit, killed two of them and arrested one.
Confirming the incident and the arrest of one of the fleeing cultists, Police Public Relations Officer in Rivers State, Mrs Rita Inoma-Abbey told that three of the four motorcycles used by the cultists and five loaded Ak 47 magazines were also recovered.
Mrs Abbey, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) was optimistic that the arrest of one of the cultists who was being interrogated would lead to the arrest of the other five still on the run.
Source: Sun, 4th June 2008
Rivers denies selective punishment for cult leaders
Rivers State government has denied giving unequal treatment to cultists and their leaders.
The State Commissioner for Information, Mr Ogbonna Nwuke told reporters yesterday in Port Harcourt that the government would not treat any unrepentant cultist with padded gloves.
Ogbonna, who was reacting to allegations that the government was not giving equal punishment to cult leaders, said any cultist who refused to repent must face the wrath of the law.
"When we came on board, we declared some cult leaders wanted, we have not changed, they still remain wanted; this is not the posture of a government that wants to treat cultists unequally," he said.
He said the constitution of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and several anti-cultism policies of the state government were evidence of its resolve to tackle cultism and violence.
He called on the people to support the commission by availing it with information capable of making it realise the goal of bringing about lasting peace in the state. "We all owe the state a duty to be part of the peace process, let us participate actively as we move to reconcile and enthrone peace in our state; it is no time to criticise, it is time to participate," he said.
The Governor Chibuike Amaechi, while testifying at the first sitting of the commission in Port Harcourt, had said he would implement its recommendations.
Source: Nation, 4th June 2008.
Rivers govt parades alleged hostage takers
Written by Jimitota Onoyume
PORT HARCOURT— ELEVEN kidnappers arrested by the Rivers state Police Command were paraded yesterday at a stakeholder’s forum of the state in
Government House. This was after governor Rotimi Amaechi in his opening remark had condemned kidnapping, saying it makes nonsense of agitation by the region for attention.
Among those paraded was a 70-year old man who allegedly connived with his son to abduct some children in the state. A visibly angry governor Amaechi wondered the link between the abducted children and problems of under-development in the region.
He said it was very sad that kidnapping was becoming a growing industry in the region, adding that his administration would resist it through enforcement of the law. He said any one caught for abduction would be prosecuted and appropriate sanction meted out.
“Kidnapping is becoming an industry. Kidnapping is beyond the issue of Niger Delta struggle. They have bastardized the struggle with kidnappings. We are losing sympathy both at the local and international levels. Those doing it are doing it at the expense of others".
Continuing, he said those with any form of grievances should take them to the truth and reconciliation commission set up by his government that would commence sitting June 2. He said he would appear at the first sitting of the commission to assure insurgents and others that would appear that they are safe to do so. He urged people of the state not to continue to live in fear as peace had returned to the area.
Source: Vanguard, 1st June 2008.
Amaechi dares militants, vows to demolish their houses
GOVERNOR Rotimi Amaechi has vowed to demolish any building belonging to militants in the state. This is an apparent move to discourage ill-gotten wealth. The governor said this yesterday at a stake holders meeting in Government House.
I will knock down any house built by militants. The person can go to court. We must as a people take our destiny into our hands. We must not be ruled by criminals.
It is not because of injustice in the area that these things are happening here (referring to hostage takings and crimes in the state). We are ready to negotiate with the genuine agitators but we will not negotiate with criminals. We will enforce the law”.
He continued that his administration would soon begin massive demolition in the state capital to be able to return it to its old garden city status.
“The old Rivers State information centre will be replaced with a football field. Agbani Derego centre will be replaced. We shall demolish churches and mosques”.
On Okada, he added: "They would be asked to vacate the streets of the state capital after the state would have taken delivery of enough commercial buses.
He said at the moment they were still allowed to ply the roads. “We shall introduce buses. We only told motorcycles to stop plying from 7pm.
You can’t ban motorcycles except you have an alternative if not the poor will suffer”
He said his administration was already working on a comprehensive solution to the water problem in the state which would soon be ready.
On the epileptic power supply he said his government had paid eleven billion to Roskin engineering, a firm that handled former governor Peter Odili’s gas turbine project.
Amaechi said his government had not abandoned the turbine project. When it is completed according to him, former governor Peter Odili would be invited during the commissioning because he initiated the idea.
Source: Vanguard, 30th May 2008. | 
