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Nigeria's main militant group in oil rich Niger Delta region, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) on Sunday said it has set up a peace broker committee to mediate between them and the government.
Jomo Gbomo, the group's spokesperson, said in a statement reaching Xinhua that the government has two-week ultimatum to commence dialogue with its "Aaron Team," including a repentant militant leader, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, to end the bombing of oil installations and Niger Delta militancy.
MEND declared that the dialogue must not be coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), since most of the issues surrounding the Niger Delta question were on the exclusive legislative list and the proposed dialogue was not an interrogatory session.
The group described members of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) as criminals, who had been holding the Nigerian government to ransom and forcing concessions.
The NDA members, according to MEND, also engage in militancy for their own personal aggrandizement.
The militant group expressed displeasure that successive governments and the International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the crude oil and gas-rich Niger Delta had repeatedly reneged on agreements entered into with the people of the region and also owing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) billions of naira in withheld funds.
The group also stated that it stopped attacks on oil installations more than two years ago, when the group unilaterally declared a ceasefire of hostilities on May 30, 2014 against Nigeria's key economic and strategic interests.
According to MEND, since it declared ceasefire, it had relentlessly sought to engage the government in a sincere dialogue on the release of those it described as "Prisoners of Conscience," including Henry and Charles Okah, as well as addressing the root issues bedeviling the Niger Delta, without success.
The militant group also hoped that the government would reach out to the Aaron Team Leader, to signal government's intention to commence the dialogue.
MEND added that if after the two-week ultimatum and it did not hear from the Nigerian government, the militant group would assume that the Mohammad Buhari's administration was truly not sincere about dialogue on the Niger Delta question, but would prefer to respond only to the threat of violence or industrial action.
The group has been known for carrying out attacks on international oil companies in the Niger Delta, engaging in actions including sabotage, theft, property destruction, guerrilla warfare and kidnapping.
In June 2009, the Nigerian government offered amnesty to gunmen in the oil rich Niger Delta region, urging them to lay down their weapons by Oct. 4 in a bid to end unrest, which has cost Africa's top oil exporter billions of dollars in lost revenue.
Scores of Nigerian armed youth gave up their weapons and embraced amnesty offered by the Nigerian government in the most concerted effort yet to end years of fighting in the oil-rich producing region.
The Niger Delta is an unstable area where inter-ethnic clashes are commonplace. Access to oil revenue is the trigger for the violence. Over 300 foreigners have been seized in the Niger Delta since 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed after paying a ransom.
The unrest in the region has forced many international firms to flee the area. The government mobilized the Nigerian army and coast guard in an anti-banditry operation.
(APD)
