Pic: Former President Goodluck Jonathan
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has revealed how he undertook a daring mission into a notorious militant camp in the Niger Delta in 2007 without armed security, despite repeated warnings from security chiefs, saying the risky decision laid the foundation for the region’s peace process and the Amnesty Programme.
Jonathan spoke on Monday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, during a two-day conference titled “Through The Python’s Eye: 70 Years of Oil Production in Nigeria.”
Security Chiefs Opposed Mission
Jonathan recalled that as Vice President, he travelled to the creeks of Delta State to meet with ex-militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, and other militant leaders to negotiate peace.
According to him, the militants insisted that no one accompanying him should carry weapons, warning that the presence of armed security would trigger a gun battle.
He said both the Delta State
Commissioner of Police and the State Director of the State Security Service strongly advised against the trip, describing it as too dangerous.
Entering the Camp Unarmed
Undeterred, Jonathan said he ordered his Chief Security Officer (CSO) and Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to surrender their firearms before proceeding into the camp.
He explained that only the two officers accompanied him after handing over their weapons, adding that he told them they would retrieve the guns if they returned safely.
Jonathan said they were received by two rows of heavily armed militants carrying assorted rifles and had to walk between them to the meeting venue.
The negotiation, he said, lasted about one and a half hours before his team safely returned to Abuja.
Mission That Changed the Niger Delta
Jonathan maintained that the high-risk meeting became the turning point that led to the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme and restored relative peace to the oil-rich region.
He also explained that sustainable peace in the Niger Delta depends on tackling environmental degradation, underdevelopment and decades of neglect.
Tags:
Goodluck Jonathan, Niger Delta, Tompolo, Amnesty Programme
