Owerri — Unless urgent arrangements are made to release funds to continue the demining and detonation of bombs and dangerous explosives as well as the detonation of several weapons already exposed by the Ministry of Defense, the project may be abandoned.

Humanitarian Demining, the organization carrying out the project, has threatened to pull out. Briefing THISDAY in his office in Owerri, the Project Consultant of the organisation, Dr. Bala Yakubu frowned at the inability of the relevant ministry to release funds to enable the firm complete the job as it still has about three months to finish the project.

He disclosed that already over 3,500 bombs have been recovered by the body out of which about 2,014 bombs were recovered from Rivers State alone. About 350 bombs including guns were recovered in Imo State while other states where heavy explosives were recovered include Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu , Delta Akwa Ibom, Cross River , Abia, Benue and Nasarawa.

Yakubu, who said the heaviest bombs were recovered in Benue State, disclosed that they had been having difficulties meeting the Ministry of Defense to achieve the target even as the United Nations and the European Union have commended the organization for achieving what was near impossible in other countries.

As at present there were stockpiles of these evacuated explosives, including the ones recovered in June 2009 at Professor Chinua Achebe's house in his village at Anambra State which was capable of pulling down his residence, as well as the landmine detonated under the popular bridge linking Awka in Anambra State and Okigwe in Imo State which had been there for 39 years. According to him, in the selective demining, we have cleared 87 percent in the South East except few in Benue and Rivers State States .

In Rivers State alone we have recovered over 20 bombs at Rison Palm and Igwrita Ally, while he commended the Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi for his support to the organization. "Now we are constrained because we have written several letters to the Ministry of Defense for assistance and no response and we are ready to pull out if no funds were made available to us to detonate these weapons that were stockpiled in different area that pose danger to the public", he said.

"We cannot continue to run the place with loans and assistance when there were budget for the job from the Ministry. The Ministry of Defense should live up to their expectations by funding the programme. As disciplined organization we do not complain. We believe that our success story will speak for us" Yakubu lamented.