The 183 ex-Niger Delta militants are challenging the stoppage of their monthly stipends the Nigerian government was paying them under the presidential amnesty scheme.
No fewer than 183 former Niger Delta agitators have sued the federal government over alleged stoppage of their monthly allowances.
The 183 ex-militants joined the coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) as defendants in 17 separate suits they filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
In one of the suits marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/675/2023 filed on 6 December 2023, an ex-agitator, Benneth Ofeyena, sought a declaration that he is entitled to the mandatory monthly stipend of N65,000 as beneficiary of Phase 2 of the PAP.
He said the programme was initiated by the federal government through a Federal Government Amnesty Proclamation Notice issued in 2009 upon a truce reached between the Nigerian government and them.
He also sought a declaration that the defendants' failure and/or refusal to pay the monthly stipend of 65,000 from October 2012 to date to him as a beneficiary is illegal and unlawful.
The ex-militant, therefore, prayed for an order directing the defendants to pay to him the sum of N8.255 million representing the mandatory monthly stipend of N65,000 for the period from October 2012 to 30 April 2023.
He sought an order directing the defendants to pay to him the mandatory monthly stipend of 65,000.00 from May 2023 to date.
Mr Ofeyena equally sought an order directing the defendants to pay N5 million each as the cost of filing the suit.
In the other 16 separate suits before Federal High Court judge, James Omotosho, the ex-agitators sought the same prayers.
They told the court that they had been beneficiaries of government's amnesty programme since 2009 when it was initiated by the late President Umaru Yar'Adua's administration and wondered why the payment of the N65,000 was stopped despite yearly budget of over N60 billion appropriated for the said programme by Federal Government.
Some of the plaintiffs in the other 16 suits include Oyemo Ezi, Suru Michael, Albert Tamaraudouye, Alex Sile, Allen Ikiyou, Aaron Williams, Abisere Alfred, Amuluku Daniel, Amuluku Julius, Belele Karina, among others.
Hearing
When the matter between Benneth Ofeyena against Barry Tariye Ndiomu a retired major-general and ex-Interim Administrator of PAP, and the Nigerian government listed as 1st and 2nd defendants, was called, the sole plaintiff, Mr Ofeyena, testified in support of his case on Monday.
Mr Ofeyena, while being led in evidence by his lawyer, Regina Okotie-Eboh, adopted his witness statement on oath which he deposed to on 8 December 2023, as his evidence in court and urged the court to grant all his reliefs.
He said the Nigerian government and the ex-agitators, including himself, reached a truce in 2009 to surrender their arms and renounce militancy.
Mr Ofeyena told the court that he laid down a pump action rifle at the time.
He said in return, the Nigerian pledged to institute programmes to assist the beneficiaries' disarmament, demobilisation, rehabilitation and provision of reintegration assistance to the militants.
He said after the completion of the training programme at demobilisation camp, he was given a personal identity card of the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme and a certificate of successful completion of the demobilisation programme.
He was also given a certificate of participation by the United Nations (UN) Delegated Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation Team from Emory University Atlanta Georgia.
Besides, he testified that he was given a unique code that was embedded in their identity cards and certificates issued to all the beneficiaries of the amnesty programme, among others.
He said all these were to prove a point that he was one of the beneficiaries, contrary to the submission of the defence.
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Mr Ofeyena, however, said that he was only paid the monthly stipend of N65, 000 from February 2012 to October 2012 before it was stopped.
The judge, Mr Omotosho, admitted the documents tendered in evidence and marked them as exhibits.
After cross-examination by PAP lawyer, Babatunde Alajogun, and counsel for the federal government, Maimuna Lami-Shehu, the judge adjourned the matter until 6 May for the defence to open their case.
Also in the sister case marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/673/2023, between 138 ex-militants against PAP interim administrator and the Nigerian government, Oyemo Ezi, one of the witnesses, testified and after he was cross-examined by the defendants lawyers, the judge adjourned the matter until 23 April for defence to open their case.
It would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu had, on Thursday, appointed Dennis Otuaro as new administrator of PAP.
Mr Otuaro replaced Mr Ndiomu, who had served as interim administrator of the programme since September 2022.
