Niger Delta

Militants Rampage Over Non-payment Of Allowance, … Threaten Attack

Published

16 years ago

September 29, 2009

About 200 former militants, on Friday, took to the streets of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, protesting over non-payment of allowance as agreed by the Federal Government in the amnesty deal with them.

The protest paralysed social and commercial activities in the city while it lasted.

A mobile policeman escaped being lynched after he was accused of firing gunshots into the air to scare the protesters.

It was gathered that the policeman would have been set ablaze, but for the timely intervention of soldiers attached to the Joint Military Task Force (JTF).

The protest, the third in the last one month, started around 6.00 a.m. The ‘repentant’ militants barricaded the only road leading to the city at Akenfa end of Yenagoa Local Government Area, thereby disrupting the traffic.

People were forced to stay indoors while social activities were suspended for the period the protest lasted.

The former militants, said to belong to various camps, accused governments at various levels of insensitivity.

According to them, since they were disarmed, the government had not kept its own side of the bargain, especially the payment of the N65,000 monthly allowance.

Some of the former militants, who spoke under condition of anonymity, claimed that the government was only taking care of their former leaders, forgetting about the followers.

“What they (the Federal Government) told us before we accepted the amnesty offer is not what we are experiencing now.

“They agreed to pay each of us N10 million disarmament allowance, but as I am talking to you now, we are yet to receive a dime,” said one of the militants.

With less than two weeks to the deadline of the disarmament programme, the aggrieved militants have threatened to go back to the creeks and launch a fresh offensive.

However, The Tide gathered that the delay in the payment of the allowance by the Federal Government Amnesty Implementation Committee was attributed to logistic problems.

The Tide learnt that the state chairman of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, James Jephthah, has established a link with various commanders of former militant camps to ensure that there was no confrontation between the aggrieved former militants and security operatives.

“We had to intervene and link up with the militant leaders to prevail on the ‘boys’ to stay calm and allow the amnesty committee to resolve the existing bureaucratic difficulties.

“The agreement on the payment of allowances through the leaders still stand and it will not fail,” Jephthah said. As of the time of filing this report, security had been beefed up around the state capital while business and commercial activities had resumed.

Niger Delta

Navy Pledges Improved Patrols, Welfare Boost For Personnel

Published

23 hours ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, has pledged to ensure improved welfare for personnel and more patrols on the maritime corridors of the nation.

He disclosed this during an on the spot assessment of things at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC), Calabar, on Wednesday.

According to him, there is the need for officers to always be ready, by improving on their welfare, in a bid to keep the country secured.

“I am here for an on the spot assessment of our operations and like you have seen, I have also gone round to check the ongoing buildings.

”These are welfare issues and for us to be able to have our men ready and keep us secured, their welfare needs to be catered for.

“So, we are here to kill two birds with one stone, which are basically operations and welfare issues.

”I am happy with what the command is doing; it is doing well in terms of keeping the maritime environment safe.

“We will continue doing what we are doing and improve on that, which is patrol of the waters and increase in the area of surveillance”, he stated.

As part of his visit, Abbas commissioned the 12×1 Junior Rates Accommodation Block A and B, at the Navy Barracks at Atimbo in Calabar.

The naval chief also inspected other ongoing projects in the Akim Barracks, 1006 flats and the Navy hotel, all within Calabar.

Niger Delta

Delta Begins Uromi Junction Flyover Construction

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Delta State Government says it has began construction work on the long-awaited Uromi Junction Flyover Bridge in Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of the state.

Director-General (DG) of the Delta State Bureau for Orientation and Communications, Dr. Fred Oghenesivbe, confirmed the development to newsme in Asaba.

According to him, heavy-duty construction equipment have arrived the site, a project which is being handled by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, one of the country’s leading construction firms.

Oghenesivbe, described the flyover as a massive infrastructure project with far-reaching socio-economic benefits for the area.

He said the project would significantly transform the Agbor metropolis by easing traffic congestion, improving the city’s aesthetics, and boosting commercial activities within the local government area.

He described the State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, as a promise-keeper and pragmatic leader whose administration remains committed to infrastructure development and economic growth across the state.

The DG expressed confidence in Julius Berger’s capacity to deliver the project within record time and according to the highest construction standards.

“The Uromi Junction serves as a major link between different parts of the country but has recently been plagued by severe traffic congestion, making vehicular movement increasingly difficult”, he noted.

He urged residents to cooperate with the contractor and safeguard construction materials and equipment to ensure the timely completion of the project.

Niger Delta

A’Ibom Rejects Ekid Ownership Claim Of Stubbs Creek

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Akwa Ibom State Government has rejected claims by the Ekid People’s Union that it owns land within the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, describing such assertions as “false, misleading and a distortion of the judicial record.”

In a recent statement, signed by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom, the state government said it was compelled to respond in the “overriding public interest,” despite a pending court case instituted by the same group.

The government stated that contrary to claims circulating in the media, the historic case of Ntiaro and Ikpak vs. Ibok Etok Akpan and Edoho Ekid, decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1918, did not vest ownership of Stubbs Creek land in any ethnic group or community.

“The final judgement merely dismissed the claims before the court and granted title to no party whatsoever”, the government stated, adding that “any assertion to the contrary is false, misleading and a distortion of the judicial record.”

According to the statement, the land was lawfully reserved by the colonial government under Forest Reserve Order No. 45 of 1930, later amended in 1941, 1955 and 1962, with “the principal rights of the land forfeited to the Government upon the change of status.”

It said the area has since been administered under applicable laws by the Akwa Ibom State Government, which “has at all times acted within its lawful authority in the management and allocation of land in the area for legitimate public and economic purposes.”

Citing the 1999 Constitution and the Land Use Act, the government stated that all land in the state is vested in the governor to be held in trust for the common benefit of Nigerians, noting that claims of absolute ancestral ownership are subject to existing laws.

The government “categorically denies allegations of fraud or misrepresentation” regarding Stubbs Creek or investments there and warned it would take “appropriate legal steps” against any individual or group publishing false or defamatory material capable of undermining public confidence or discouraging investment

The statement also assured the federal government of “full access and Right of Way” for the proposed Coastal Highway through any part of the state.

The government statement followed an earlier report in which the Ekid People’s Union accused Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State of making comments that allegedly linked the community to terrorism, while he was defending the Coastal Highway project passing through the Stubbs Creek.

Ekid People’s Union maintained that the people of Ekid are the original owners of the land known as Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, arguing that their ancestral ownership predates colonial rule.

The group cited historical occupation, customary ownership and a 1918 Privy Council case, which it claimed affirmed Ekid rights over the territory.

The union also accused the Akwa Ibom State Government of misrepresenting history to justify taking over the land for commercial interests and the proposed Coastal Highway, an allegation the state government has denied.

The group rejected any suggestion linking the Ekid people to criminality or terrorism, insisting they were peaceful citizens defending their ancestral land through lawful and civic means.