Ateke Tom, right, warned that his fighters could take up arms again if let down by the government [AFP]
Ateke Tom, right, warned that his fighters could take up arms again if let down by the government [AFP]
Thousands of people in Nigeria's Delta state have gathered in the provincial capital to witness a local rebel leader accept a government amnesty. Government Tompolo arrived in the city of Warri on Sunday after pledging his support for Umaru Yar'Adua, the president, in return for an unconditional pardon.
Tompolo was one of the leaders of the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC), which was responsible for shutting down a large amount of oil output from the western delta in 2003.
"We came because we want peace," Chief Andrew Anegba, a traditional Ijaw ethnic community leader, said as he waited for Tompolo at Warri airport.
"The last militant groups are giving up arms, and that means peace is coming back."
Surrender
Tompolo was the latest rebel leader to accept the amnesty deal, which was originally offered in June, before it expires at midnight on Sunday.
He arrived in Warri by presidential jet, accompanied by Timi Alaibe, Yar'Adua's adviser on Niger Delta matters, after signing the amnesty in Abuja.
"If they refuse to develop our region we will go back to the creeks" Ateke Tom, leader of
the Niger Delta Vigilante
"Today is the greatest day for Nigeria," Tompolo said as he stepped off the plane.
Two other commanders from the eastern delta laid down their arms a day earlier, on Saturday.
Farah Dagogo, a senior rebel commander, surrendered his weapons in the oil city of Port Harcourt.
"I Farah Dagogo, overall field commander for the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta [Mend] accept together with field commanders in Rivers state, the presidential offer of amnesty to militants who lay down their weapons," he said.
"We are surrendering all weapons under our direct control."
Ateke Tom, the leader of the ethnic Ijaw Niger Delta Vigilante group, and around 5,000 of his fighters handed over their weapons at a ceremony on a beach in the city.
But he warned that his fighters would resume attacks if authorities fail to make good on a pledge to invest in the delta.
"If they refuse to develop our region we will go back to the creeks," he said.
New campaign
Mend, which dismissed the amnesty as a charade, said it has replaced its military command.
"All commanders have been replaced ... and the next phase of our campaign will commence soon," it said in a statement.
Henry Okah, the group's leader, who was freed in July as part of a government amnesty deal offered to the rebels after treason charges against him were dropped, said unrest was likely to continue in the region because the root cause of the violence had not been addressed.
The rebels, who say they are fighting for a fairer distribution of the region's wealth, launched repeated attacks on oil infrastructure and government forces across the delta causing a slump in production.
Despite Nigeria's oil riches, the vast majority of its 140 million people live on $2 a day or less, and some of the most acute poverty is in the villages of the delta.
Daily oil production has slipped to 1.7 million barrels per day from 2.6 million in January 2006 in Africa's top producer.
Thousands of rebels in Nigeria's volatile Niger Delta have surrendered their weapons, after they accepted a government offer of amnesty, reports say.

Nigerian president Yar'Adua at the 2008 World Economic Forum 
Local rebel leader Government Tompolo arrived in Warri on Sunday, after promising to support Nigerian president Umaru Yar'Adua in return for a pardon. He was among the heads of the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC), blamed for halting a large portion of oil in 2003 from the Nigerian west delta.


The leader of another group, the Ijaw Niger Delta Vigilantes, Ateke Tom, and five thousand fighters also surrendered arms in the city of Port Harcourt. However, Tom said that his group would restart attacks if the Nigerian government did not follow up on their promise to invest in the area, saying that "if they refuse to develop our region we will go back to the creeks." 

Other rebel groups had refused to disarm until their main demands were discussed, but the government said it was unwilling to negotiate until weapons were surrendered. Niger Delta's religious and community leaders had mounted pressure on the militants to embrace the peace process.

With their disarmament, the government's pledge to resolve years of violence that has stopped the flow of one million barrels of oil per day appears to be on course. President Umaru Yar'Adua, whose 60-day amnesty offer commenced on August 6, said that the government is keen to build upon the success so far achieved.

Since 2006, militant activities have crippled operations of oil companies in southern Nigeria, resulting in a steep decline in production. Nigeria, one of Africa's two biggest oil producers, derives more than 90 percent of its foreign exchange earnings from oil.