Ex militants drag General Africa and FG to Court over N26m Unpaid Stipends

Ex-militants from the Niger Delta have sued their leader, Mr Emomotimi Ukparasia popularly known as “General Africa” as well as the federal government over the non-payment of their stipends amounting to N25.6m in total.

The militants instituted heir action at the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, and joined in the suit are the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brig-Gen Paul Boroh (retd) and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

According to Punch reports, the court, on Thursday, fixed November 8, 2016, to hear the suit by the aggrieved ex-militants.

The suit listed the angry ex-militants as Karibo Allen, Sunday Elijah, Utiki Claudius, Boukeme Nimitei, Kingsley Nichodemus, Leleindine and Sanga Sanga.

Others are James Godgift, Philip Bibinibeye, Joseph Macdonus and Allison Timi-Izuo.

The former militants claimed that they were members of Africa’s camp and seeked the court to rule that they were validly qualified beneficiaries of the amnesty programme and should have been paid their stipends as released by the federal government.

They are also asked for a declaration that the defendants were liable, especially Boroh, for the payment of their allowances from October 2009 till the termination of the programme.

They therefore prayed the court to mandate the defendants to pay “the sum of N65,000 multiplied by 11 persons, being their monthly allowance from October 2009 to September 2012, amounting to N25.6m and the total accruals of their allowances at the termination of this suit.”

The federal government had recently announced that the amnesty program which began in 2009 will be terminated in 2017 having fulfilled its purpose.

The decision has already sparked debates about the possible reactions from former militants who have grown dependent on the monthly stipends received from the program, with many seeing the resumption of hostilities in the region as a possibility.