MEND lied on Okrika pipeline explosion -Amnesty office The Presidential Amnesty Office has said that the claim by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta that it masterminded the pipeline explosion in Okrika, Rivers State, on Sunday, was a blatant lie. The Head of Media and Publicity of the Amnesty Office, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, described the MEND’s claim as ‘an abominable attempt by a band of vandals and criminals to take credit for an unfortunate incident that claimed lives.’ Alabrah said that the Amnesty Office wouldn’t have responded to the claim by the ‘shadowy group’ after a statement by the NNPC which cleared the air on the explosion but for a claim by the that the Amnesty Programme was a fraud. Alabrah said, “The relative peace in the Niger Delta was a product of diligent implementation of the Amnesty Programme and the sustained efforts of security agencies in the area. “We suspect that those behind the group are being used once again by agents of destabilization, who do not mean well for the Niger Delta and Nigeria as a country. “It is a truism that the relative peace enjoyed in the Niger Delta is the result of the diligent implementation of the amnesty programme coupled with the highly commendable efforts of the security agencies, which has ensured the stabilization of security and peace in the region.” Alabrah said that the MEND’s claim conceded with the presentation of 160 Niger Delta youths who were on their way to universities in US and the UK, to the media in Lagos on Monday. He argued that a Programme which had trained 19,000 ex-militants from the Niger Delta could not be said to be a fraud put in place to enrich a few individuals. Alabrah said that it was a shock that a group claiming to ‘emancipate the Niger Delta’ would embark on such a criminal act to attract attention especially at a time the country was confronted with serious security challenges. He said that the Amnesty Office condemned what he described an attempt to cause panic in the region which he said was harmful to the people of the area.
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 20:45:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015