FG URGED TO IDENTIFY WITH GENUINE AGITATORS IN N-DELTA

Former MEND warlord, Mr Josiah Oyakogha, aka Oyimi, has warned self-acclaimed ex-militant 'generals' to refrain from parading themselves as ex generals, saying that their actions were disgusting, inimical and ridiculing the Niger Delta region as well as undermining the genuine essence of the struggle.

Oyimi, who made this statement while addressing newsmen,  said the excesses of some self-acclaimed ex-militant 'generals' in the Niger Delta were far more debilitating compared to the original agitation.

He said: 'Some self-styled 'generals' mostly from the third phase of the ongoing Federal Government Amnesty Programme are misbehaving. They smuggled themselves into the system to benefit from the Amnesty Programme whereas they never tasted or heard the sound of a gun.'

He therefore called on the Federal Government to identify the genuine agitators in the Niger Delta, adding that some criminal elements have infiltrated the system and they are the ones parading themselves as ex-generals in some riverine towns and villages causing nuisance and threatening innocent law abiding citizens.

'It is high time the Amnesty Committee and all those involved in the process to come up with an appropriate policy to curtail this fast trend before it degenerates into communal clashes. I surrendered arms through my leader and my hands are still with me to resist any form of intimidation from anybody.

While expressing utmost disappointment over the activities of these self-acclaim ex generals, he lamented that they were never known in the struggle so they were grappling in whatever means available to be incorporated into the amnesty programme to survive.