hot nigeria info.

THE next batch of 600 ex-militants to be trained in Obubra, Cross River State, are to be placed under a 24-hour surveillance by soldiers, policemen and other security agencies to checkmate acts of lawlessness that characterized the training of the first batch of 2,000 ex-militants.

Meantime, the Post Amnesty Committee has directed ex-militant leaders to instruct their boys to be obedient and respect camp rules.

Vanguard gathered that more soldiers and policemen would be deployed in the camp if the need arose, while those on ground had, in the last few days, been receiving tutorials on the new order that should be maintained in the camp.
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Last Thursday, Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Co-ordinator of the Post-Amnesty Committee, Mr. Timi Alaibe who visited the training camp, ordered that the soldiers and policemen be provided with decent accommodation to make them comfortable for their task.

Alaibe during his inspection of projects at the ex-militants training camp

Security observance posts have also been built at strategic locations in the camp for effective monitoring of the ex-militants while the perimeter fencing with spiral binding wire was 70 per cent completed.

Though there was no clear-cut date for the resumption of training for the next batch, it was obvious that Alaibe wanted the infrastructure to be in place before the ex-militants will come in.

Security dynamics

Alaibe told newsmen: “We have reviewed the security dynamics to ensure we have all the services working as a team so that there will be a seamless co-ordination of their activities.

“Part of the new rules to be enforced by the security team is to restrict movement of ex_militants outside the camp. In fact, the moment the next batch of ex-militants arrive the camp in branded buses to be provided by the committee from their respective states, they would not be allowed to come out to do anything against the community or against the peace and progress of the community.”

Vanguard was informed that security was porous with the first batch of ex_militants because the camp, spanning 14 hectares was not fenced. However, when Vanguard visited the camp, the camp had been fenced with two gates.

To strengthen security in the camp, the host community, under the auspices of Ogada Youth Movement, led by Comrade Ekong Sylvanus Ibingha, called on the government to “issue a notice to the community at least three weeks before the use of the camp, as has been the case with the NYSC management.”

In a letter he handed over to Alaibe, last week, Ibingha said: “All staff of the project, whether voluntary, casual, permanent, law enforcement and ex-militants should be clearly identified with tags to enable law-abiding citizens to report correctly acts of lawlessness to the appropriate authorities. It is only when this and other measures are taken that the peace of our community and confidence shall be relied on.”

Meantime, the training of the documented 20,192 ex-militants may stretch beyond the December target of the government following logistic and infrastructure challenges that necessitated a second look at the programme on conclusion of the pilot phase, some weeks ago.

The current training programme had no provision for the group of ex-militants that stormed Abuja recently to protest their exclusion from the post-amnesty programme and the Federal Government was believed to be looking into their demands.

A Presidency source told Vanguard: “The issue of adjustment of the training programme will be tackled when the time comes. For now, the facilities are being upgraded to make the place a better place for learning.”

Alaibe, however, thinks otherwise. He said the reduction of the number of ex-militants in a batch from 2,000 to 600 was to experiment and see the efficiency, adding that as the training proceeded, the committee would increase the number again.

He said: “We are going to run the training back to back, we are also looking at other facilities. If we have the opportunity of having on board other facilities, we will use them to make sure we complete the exercise between now and December.”

Ex militants to engage in farming

Meanwhile, the former militants are to approach leaders from the northern part of the country to acquire large expanse of land for mechanized farming after the ongoing training and rehabilitation.

National president of the Niger Delta Youth Movement, Evangelist Godspower Odenema, who disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja, weekend, said the decision to go to the north was informed by the availability and fertility of land in the area.

Odenema said that all necessary legal and cultural requirements would be fulfilled by the repentant militants before the full commencement of the venture, adding that to ensure that there was greater cooperation between youths from the north and the Niger Delta region, “the Niger Delta Youth movement has begun the process of engaging youth associations and organizations in the north so that we can have a beneficial relationship for the people of the two regions.”

Explaining further on the proposed mechanized farming, the NDYM president said: “We are looking at maize, corn, fishery, animal husbandry and even piggery. The Mambilla plateau is a very fertile place and it is one of the areas we are considering. The knowledge gained by the ex-freedom fighters would be deployed to not only create employment but to make our country self sufficient in food production.