Defence Minister, Major General Godwin Abbe (rtd), and Governor Timi-pre Sylva of Bayelsa State have spoken out forcefully against threat of renewed attacks by the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) at the end of the 60 days amnesty offered by the Federal Government.

MEND had last week said it would resume attacks on oil installations. It alleged that arms that had supposedly been surrendered by militants are owned by the government and did not form part of the guns held by its fighters.

But Abbe urged MEND to throw in the towel by halting economic sabotage because the militant group had lost the sympathy of Nigerians.

Sylva on the other hand dared defiant members of the group to identify themselves to the public, describing their threat as empty.

The defence minister spoke the mind of the government yesterday, while fielding questions from State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Sylva aired his views during an interview with THISDAY Board of Editors at the paper's headquarters in Apapa, Lagos.

Abbe, who is also the chairman of the amnesty committee, said Nigerians have realised that most of the problems confronting the country today, such as the power and energy crisis are caused by the activities of militants.

He said the militants would lose an opportunity for peace if they fail to accept the amnesty deal before expiration. He added that they would lose the respect of people from the region and Nigerians in general.

The minister said government has appealed to MEND not to make good its threat. But the authorities would not fail to deploy the armed forces to curtail insurgence from any part of Nigeria and provide security to its citizens and oil facilities, he declared.

The defence minister stated that government is taking the issue seriously. He advised members of the group who are yet to come out of hiding to take advantage of the remaining days by turning in their arms.

"We have appealed to their consciences not to carry out the threat because they have more to lose if they go back to militancy," the minister stated.

He continued: "they should not continue to bring cry and anguish to women, children and the elderly in the region."

He commended the efforts of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to address the problems of the region, noting that government is sincere and determined.

Abbe, who criticized the resort to violence, asked rhetorically if that would construct roads and provide hospitals.

On the issue of cash for arms, Abbe disclosed that government would not give money to any group of militants in exchange for arms surrendered.

He wondered why the militants should be compensated for killing, maiming and disrupting economic activities, in the name of amnesty. It would amount to rewarding bad deeds, he observed.

On the progress of the amnesty programme so far, the minister said: "honestly God is controlling it. I can tell you that he is hearing the prayers of well-meaning Nigerians in ensuring that there is peace."

Abbe described news that militant leader, Government Ekpumopolo aka Tompolo, had agreed to lay down his arms as positive. He said the government is waiting to attend to him.

Similarly, Sylva said MEND lacks the capacity to mount attacks on the due date, September 15. The governor explained that most MEND members had already given up their arms and wondered who the faceless people behind such threat are.

He stated that a measure of success had been achieved because their ranks had been broken.

"Nobody has said that Boyloaf is not part of MEND. He was a major part of MEND. Africa was part of MEND. For now we have succeeded in breaking their ranks. That means we can cash in on this and do something. We are waiting for the rest of MEND who have threatened to resume attack on oil installations on September 15," said Sylva.

The governor charged the press to ask relevant questions regarding the identity of the remaining members of the group. According to him, the country cannot allow someone who sends text messages and emails from his "bedroom" to hold it to ransom. The press should also desist from making the group look more credible than other militants, he stated.

On allegations that arms surrendered were actually bought by the Baylesa Government, Sylva stated that it would be sad if it was easy for a government to go over the counter and buy those machine guns from the militants.

The country also has a serious problem if the groups still have large quantities of arms even after surrendering, he observed.

He declared that the era of militancy is coming to an end. However, the problems of the region will not be solved automatically, he added. The governor further observed that his administration is focused on the post-amnesty period.

"I cannot say amnesty is now fully on and it has succeeded in tackling the Niger Delta problem. No. Amnesty was not conceived like that. Amnesty was designed to give the platform and the basis for the development of the Niger Delta, because at the end it is development and opportunities that will solve the problems of the Niger Delta," said Sylva.

MEND had vowed to resume attacks on oil installations on September 15 in order to prove that the guns being surrendered by militants were owned by the government. The threat came on the day repentant militants in Bayelsa State returned over 95,970 rounds of ammunition and 520 rifles at a colourful ceremony held at the Isaac Boro Peace Park in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.