Ex-militant leaders task Buhari on probe of ‘looted’ Amnesty training centre

A coalition of ex-militant leaders, under the aegis of the Niger Delta Amnesty Beneficiary Forum (NDABF), has written President Muhammadu Buhari informing him of efforts by some officials of the Federal Ministry of Justice to allegedly frustrate the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) from filing a proper defence against a suit initiated by 15 companies accused of alleged involvement in the 2019 ‘looting’ of the Amnesty Training Centre, Kaiama, Bayelsa State.

The group said instead of the officials supporting legal representation made by the Amnesty Office against the suit filed by the accused firms to the tune of N3.8 billion, they are busy sabotaging the organisation’s moves in court by reportedly decimating PAP of legal officers.

In February 2019, the N60 billion amnesty training centre was looted and plundered by some unknown persons and community folks, stripping the once bubbling centre of its equipment and materials.

NDABF’s National Coordinator, Comrade James Okori, in a chat with newsmen after a peace march to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretariat in Yenagoa, said thousands of beneficiaries of the programme suspect sabotage.

He said: “We are calling on President Buhari, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate the officials over their alleged role in removing the legal adviser and other legal officers from the Amnesty Office.”

“We suspect that these officials may have been compromised by the accused companies. The removal of the legal officers attached to the Presidential Amnesty Office at this moment shows alleged sabotage against the Office from defending itself against the N3.8 billion lawsuit brought against it by 15 companies for alleged unexecuted contracts during the tenure of the former Amnesty Coordinator, Prof. Charles Dokubo, which allegedly led to the five-day looting of the N60 billion amnesty training complex in February 2019.”

Okori continued: “Presently, the Amnesty Office does not have a legal adviser or competent legal representative. We strongly support the 124 amnesty beneficiaries that have filed cases against these 15 companies in two Federal High Courts in Abuja.

“The public must know that five out of the 15 companies that are suing the Amnesty Office are allegedly not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). They are suing for N3.8 billion plus 21 per cent post-judgment. They are also requesting for special damages which can go as high as N5 billion to N8 billion.”