Thirty aggrieved former Niger Delta agitators have called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene over the alleged refusal of the Presidential Amnesty Programme to comply with a court order directing the payment of their stipends.
The group threatened to embark on an indefinite peaceful protest in Abuja if their outstanding allowances remain unpaid and other grievances are not addressed.
Speaking in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the group’s leader, Nathaniel Nicholas, described the stoppage of their stipends for over eight years as a grave injustice. He alleged that a member of the Bayelsa State Executive Council, who also serves as a camp commandant in the programme, was responsible for their ordeal.
Nicholas explained that the affected individuals are registered beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme under the Asaraba Pillar Camp in Epebu-Ayama Clan, Ogbia Local Government Area.
He lamented the non-compliance with the June 19, 2024 judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, delivered by Justice A.O. Awogboro, which reportedly ordered the payment of all outstanding stipends.
According to him, each beneficiary is entitled to N65,000 monthly, but payments allegedly stopped between September 2017 and May 2018.
“The beneficiaries have been denied their stipends of N65,000 per person for over eight years. Despite complying with the programme’s requirements, they have been subjected to hardship and deprivation.
This also amounts to a disregard for the rule of law,” Nicholas said.
He further claimed that several letters sent to the office of the programme’s administrator after the court judgment were neither acknowledged nor acted upon.
The group is now appealing to President Tinubu to direct immediate compliance with the court’s ruling, safeguard the rights of beneficiaries, and mandate a transparent investigation into the administrative decisions that led to the prolonged non-payment.
They warned that failure to address the matter promptly could trigger sustained peaceful demonstrations in the nation’s capital.