THE Federal Government yesterday kept its promise to grant amnesty to militants in the Niger Delta region yesterday.

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, who signed the amnesty package after the Council of State approved it, said all armed militants, including those detained or being tried for criminality in the oil-rich region, are affected.

This implies that the likes of Henry Okah, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, currently being prosecuted by the government for leading the armed struggle will benefit from the deal.

It is however not a blanket state pardon as militants who are willing to lay down their arms are expected to sign an undertaking not to return to the creeks to continue with the struggle.

One of the terms of the amnesty package is that the militants must sign the Re-unification of Militancy Forms, within 60 days after which the chapter will be closed.

As the President endorsed the document in Abuja, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) struck and destroyed an oil facility owned by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Rivers State.

Yar'Adua, while proclaiming the amnesty and unconditional pardon, said "all persons who have directly or indirectly participated in the commission of offences associated with militant activities in the Niger Delta," are beneficiaries.

He said the offer was open to all militants for a period of 60 days, irrespective of the charges or allegations against them.

The President said the "offer of amnesty is predicated on the willingness and readiness of the militants to give up all illegal arms in their possession, completely renounce militancy in all its ramifications unconditionally, and depose to an undertaking to this effect."

He expressed the hope that "all militants in the Niger Delta will take advantage of this amnesty and come out to join in the quest for the transformation of our dear nation."

The document read in part:

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• I hereby grant amnesty and unconditional pardon to all persons who have directly or indirectly participated in the commission of offences associated with militant activities in the Niger Delta.

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• The pardon shall take effect upon the surrender and handing over of all equipment, weapons, arms and ammunition and execution of the renunciation of Militancy Forms specified in the schedule hereto, by the affected persons at the nearest collection centre established for the purpose of government in each of the Niger Delta states.

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• The unconditional pardon granted pursuant to this proclamation shall extend to all persons presently being prosecuted for offences associated with militant activities.

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• This proclamation shall cease to have effect from Sunday, October 4, 2009."

He said that the proclamation is "another decisive step in our avowed commitment to bringing enduring peace, security, stability, and development to our nation's Niger Delta.

"From inception, our administration has demonstrated unwavering commitment to evolving a holistic solution to the problems of the Niger Delta: securing the region for growth and development, while also effectively tackling the criminal dimension to the problem."

Yar'Adua added that his administration took the path of amnesty proclamation because it recognises that the provision of the necessary infrastructure for the sorely needed socio-economic development of the area was dependent on an enduring atmosphere of peace and security.

The full text of the amnesty reads:

"Today, the 25th day of June 2009, the Federal Government takes another decisive step in our avowed commitment to bringing enduring peace, security, stability and development to our nation's Niger Delta.

"From inception, our administration has demonstrated unwavering commitment to evolving a holistic solution to the problems of the Niger Delta: securing the region for growth and development, while also effectively tackling the criminal dimension to the problem.

"We do recognise that the provision of the necessary infrastructure for the sorely needed socio-economic development of the area is dependent on an enduring atmosphere of peace and security.

"Constructive and frank engagements with all the stakeholders have defined our approach in the past two years. In line with the requisite priority which our seven-point agenda accords to the issue, and in furtherance of our determination to decisively deal with all the ramifications of the crisis, a Presidential Panel on Amnesty and Disarmament of Militants in the Niger Delta was set up on the 5th of May 2009.

"With the Federal Government's acceptance of the recommendations of the presidential panel setting out the terms, procedures and processes of the grant of an amnesty to Niger Delta militants, the National Council of State was today duly consulted.

"The offer of amnesty is predicated on the willingness and readiness of the militants to give up all illegal arms in their possession, completely renounce militancy in all its ramifications unconditionally, and depose to an undertaking to this effect. It is my fervent hope that all militants in the Niger Delta will take advantage of this amnesty and come out to join in the quest for the transformation of our dear nation. The offer of amnesty is open to all militants for a period of sixty days.

"Fellow Nigerians, our twin-challenge of democratic consolidation and economic regeneration calls for unbridled patriotism and single-minded, people-focused, results-oriented, resolute and courageous leadership at all levels. We cannot afford to fail. Let us use today's (yesterday) proclamation of amnesty to herald a new beginning for our fatherland.

"As I append my signature to the proclamation, I pray that Almighty God continues to bless our dear country, Nigeria."

The Council of State's meeting, presided by Yar'Adua was attended by four former Presidents and Heads of State: Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji Shehu Shagari and Head of the defunct Interim National Government (ING), Chief Ernest Shonekan. Others were two former Chief Justices of the federation: Muhammadu Uwais and Alfa Belgore; and some state governors.

Governors Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa), Ikedi Ohakim (Imo) and Alli Modu-Sherriff (Borno) and Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, told journalists after the two-hour meeting that the amnesty initiative is the boldest step taken by government in the history of Nigeria towards tackling the Niger Delta question.

Yar'Adua, Ohakim noted, had received the nod of the Council to announce the details and terms of the amnesty to the nation via a nationwide broadcast.

He said that the amnesty is evidence of the government's commitment to respecting human rights and resolving the problems of the Niger Delta.

Sylva said that within the period the amnesty is proclaimed and its expiration, with all militants taking advantage of the initiative, it would be clear for all to see those who are criminals and those who are genuine fighters in the campaign for the development of the region.

Sylva said: "We are talking about two different groups here. We are talking about people who probably have some issues and some criminals. And the essence of the amnesty is actually to distinguish between the criminal elements and those who have genuine issues. Those who are going to take advantage of the amnesty are the ones who have issues and who of course, merit to be granted amnesty. At the end of the time for the amnesty, every other person becomes a criminal. So, that is the whole idea. And the criminals will always exist. There is no country in this world without criminals, I am told that criminals exist even at the Vatican. And if you have criminals in the Vatican, I don't expect at all that we will not have criminals in Bayelsa. I am very certain (of the militants accepting the amnesty offer) because we have been deliberating extensively on this issue; that all the so-called militants in Bayelsa State are ready to take advantage of this amnesty."

On the attack on some pipelines by elements of MEND, Sylva said: "I don't believe that any such attack would have been carried out by any militant, but must have been carried out by criminals."

On the purported presidential pardon alleged to have been slated to be granted to former convicted military officers, Aondoakaa said no such item featured at the Council's meeting.

Aondoakaa said: "I was surprised to see on the pages of newspapers today (yesterday) that the Council will today (yesterday) give pardon to certain categories of military officers. That did not come before the Council today. It was not part of the agenda today. It can be considered on a later date after due consultation with military authorities; then it can be presented to the Council. So, essentially the people we considered were federal offences and those that are state offences were referred to the state governments.

"On the issue of the prisoners, state offenders are on category A. And when we realised that constitutionally that is the responsibility of the states, we have decided to look at the list and remove those who were convicted on federal offences and send advise to the state Attorneys-General who are chairmen of the State Prerogative of Mercy, to advise their respective governors accurately. The bottleneck is that the President went ahead to advise that it was not proper to allow somebody to be on death row up to 20 years without the sentence being carried out. It is either you free him or you commute the sentence. But to leave somebody on a death row for that long is not proper. But the general consensus, and there was also a circular which the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore, drew our attention to, that if somebody is convicted, and if the sentence is not carried out within two years, the sentence is supposed to be commuted to life imprisonment. And again those who have been commuted to life imprisonment who have served up to 21 years should be considered for freedom. And that was the yardstick we used to consider people who were pardoned today (yesterday)," he said.

MEND through its shadowy spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, however claimed responsibility for the Krakrama attack, which was confirmed by Shell.

In a letter to Russian President Dimitry Medvedve, who visited Nigeria on Wednesday, MEND said: "Your visit has coincided with Hurricane Piper Alpha, which struck again today, Thursday, June 25, 2009 at about 0025 Hrs at the major Shell Bille/Krakama pipeline in Rivers State to commemorate your visit. Cawthorn Channel 1, 2 & 3 flow-stations feeding the Bonny export terminal have been effectively put out of service."

MEND warned that this is the fate that awaits the gas pipelines that Russia plans to build in Nigeria if justice was not factored into the whole process aimed at restoring peace to the troubled Niger Delta region.

Shell's spokesperson, Precious Okolobo, confirmed the attack to The Guardian.

Okolobo said: "We have received reports of an attack on SPDC's pipeline at Krakrama manifold in Eastern operations. The facility has been shut down and emergency team has been mobilised to limit the environmental impact."

MEND took its offensive to Rivers State on Sunday where it attacked three Shell facilities at Adamakiri, Kula and then a jacket at an offshore, Ofirma oil field.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) urged the House of Representatives to provide legislative backing for the amnesty offered militants by President Yar'Adua.

Chairman, IYC Committee on Security and Economic Development, Felix Tuodolo, while presenting a paper to the House ad-hoc Committee on Niger Delta crisis chaired by Abdul Ningi in Abuja yesterday, also called for the intervention of the international community in the peace process to end the conflict.

He argued that the amnesty option should be documented so that subsequent government would not renege on the offer.

He condemned the moves by some states government to exchange money for disarmament and insisted that the strategy would aggravate militancy and criminality in the region. Tuodolo claimed that some government officials had already turned the strategy to another money-making venture as they engage in buying of guns for their relatives in exchange for N250,000.

Ningi, however, acknowledged the fact that the problem in the region was exacerbated by years of neglect of the environment by governments both at the federal and state levels.