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Leader of the Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF), Sobomabo Jackrich, also known as Egberipapa, has petitioned President Bola Tinubu over the alleged exclusion of more than 4,000 former agitators from the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), warning that continued delay in resolving their grievances could threaten peace in the Niger Delta.
Jackrich also asked the President to order an independent forensic and performance audit of the Amnesty Programme from its inception in 2009 to date, including an examination of funds appropriated and released, expenditure, contracts and allocation of beneficiary slots.
In the petition submitted to the State House, Jackrich claimed that more than 4,000 former agitators belonging to the Egberipapa Camp had remained outside the PAP framework for 17 years despite a 2021 resolution of the Senate recommending their integration and allocation of 2,000 slots to the group.
He warned that continued failure to resolve the matter could deepen frustration among the affected former agitators and tempt some to resort to “self-help.”
Jackrich recalled that on April 13, 2021, he submitted a petition to the 9th Senate through its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, alleging the exclusion and marginalisation of members of the Egberipapa Camp from the Amnesty Programme despite their participation in the disarmament process preceding the programme established by the administration of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2009.
According to him, following legislative hearings on the petition, the Senate committee recommended that the Egberipapa Camp/NDLF be integrated into the programme and allocated 2,000 slots.
He said the committee, in a follow-up correspondence dated June 8, 2021, also directed the then Interim Administrator of PAP to explain how funds appropriated to the programme were utilised and provide documentary evidence of slot allocations to various camps.
“Copies of the relevant Senate documents, correspondence and resolutions are annexed to this petition for Your Excellency’s consideration,” Jackrich said.
He maintained that the documents showed that the issue had received legislative consideration and was not merely an informal complaint.
The NDLF leader told Tinubu that failure to implement the Senate committee’s recommendations had created “a profound sense of injustice” among the affected former agitators and their families.
Jackrich said he had personally shouldered substantial welfare responsibilities for members of the group while awaiting Federal Government intervention.
“I have personally carried substantial welfare responsibilities for members of the affected group for many years while awaiting resolution of the Federal Government’s intervention. The resulting frustration has become increasingly difficult to manage,” he said.
He stressed that his latest petition was not intended merely to revive an old grievance but to secure a final resolution of an issue he said had remained in “administrative limbo” since 2009.
Jackrich raised concern about the potential security implications of leaving the matter unresolved, saying members of the camp had for years been encouraged to pursue their grievances through lawful channels.
“I am increasingly concerned that, if the matter remains unresolved, some aggrieved persons may become tempted to resort to self-help or other unlawful means of expressing their grievances,” he warned.
He, however, stressed that the warning should not be interpreted as a threat to the President or Federal Government.
Rather, he described it as “a sincere warning about the consequences of allowing a longstanding grievance involving a large number of young people in an oil-producing region to remain unresolved indefinitely.”
Jackrich urged Tinubu to treat the petition as a preventive intervention capable of restoring confidence in the Amnesty Programme and averting an escalation of grievances.
He said presidential intervention would “restore confidence in the Amnesty process, prevent avoidable escalation, and demonstrate that legitimate grievances can be resolved through lawful institutions.”
Beyond the case of his camp, the former agitator asked Tinubu to order a comprehensive review of the beneficiary slot allocation system in PAP.
He wants the government to establish, through an independent process, the original criteria for identifying beneficiaries; the number of slots approved annually since 2009; the number allocated to each recognised camp; and the basis upon which some groups were excluded.
Jackrich also requested records of the names and categories of beneficiaries, subject to applicable privacy and data protection requirements, as well as details of the financial obligations attached to the allocations.
“Such a review would not only address the petitioner’s grievance but could strengthen public confidence in the programme,” he said.
He also called for an independent forensic and performance audit of PAP from inception to date.
Jackrich noted that the programme is funded with public resources appropriated by the National Assembly and argued that a comprehensive audit would either establish that the funds had been properly managed or identify deficiencies requiring correction.
He proposed that the audit should examine total funds appropriated and released to PAP; actual expenditure against appropriation; expenditure on administration, training, education and empowerment; procurement and contracts; beneficiary and camp allocations; slot allocation records; outstanding liabilities; and compliance with procurement and audit laws.
“If the programme has been properly managed, such an audit would provide an opportunity to establish that fact conclusively,” he said.
Jackrich said PAP was established as “an instrument of peace, reconciliation, rehabilitation, reintegration and development”, arguing that grievances by former agitators who believe they were excluded contrary to government decisions or legislative recommendations should be conclusively investigated and determined.
He listed three broader objectives of presidential intervention as restoring confidence in government’s commitment to justice, preventing frustration from degenerating into a security challenge and strengthening accountability in the Amnesty Programme.
The NDLF leader made eight specific requests to Tinubu, including a directive to PAP to implement the alleged Senate resolution allocating 2,000 slots to the Egberipapa Camp; verification of the status of the affected former agitators; and production of historical records of slot allocations.
He also sought an independent audit of the programme, an investigation into why the Senate committee’s recommendations were allegedly not implemented, engagement with relevant stakeholders by the Office of the National Security Adviser and the establishment of a time-bound mechanism for resolving the dispute.
Jackrich requested an audience with Tinubu or a presidential panel designated to handle the matter, saying he was prepared to present original documents and other evidence supporting his claims.
Despite his grievances, he commended the Tinubu administration for efforts to increase crude oil production and sustain intervention programmes in the Niger Delta, insisting that he remained committed to pursuing the matter peacefully and through established institutions.
“The petitioner’s earnest desire is that the affected former agitators continue to believe in the Nigerian State and that their grievances can be resolved through lawful and constitutional processes rather than through frustration or self-help,” the petition concluded.
The Presidential Amnesty Programme was established by the Federal Government in 2009 as part of efforts to end militancy in the Niger Delta through the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former agitators. Its interventions have included education, vocational training and empowerment programmes for beneficiaries.
