Following the conviction of its leader, Mr Henry Okah, the Federal Government has appealed to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, not to start another cycle of violence that will plunge the region into chaos.
Okah was found guilty of masterminding the October 1, 2010 bomb blasts in Abuja, among other terrorism charges by a South African court last Monday.
Following the conviction, MEND had released a statement on Saturday, threatening to renew violence on targets across the country.
The statement said, “Nigerians as a whole will feel our presence when we finally decide to carry out our targets which will not be restricted to the Niger Delta alone; MEND has become more sophisticated than the level of mere IED or car bombs, and reached capabilities which will take the Nigerian Military another 10 years to catch.
“To the Nigerian Government, you have seen nothing, the disintegration of Nigeria will start through us and by us, we are well equipped for this task. We have details of all the family members of the Government (1999-2013).”
However, the FG has appealed to the group to give peace a chance so that the transformation work in the region would continue.
The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, made this call at a press briefing in Abuja on Sunday, saying that it was not right for MEND to cut short the development work in the region because of the travails of its leader.
Maku, while responding to questions about the threat, said it was shocking that a group of Nigerians would threaten over Okah’s conviction rather than condemn the act of terrorism, as the entire country is expected to.
He said, “Henry Okah was tried in South Africa under due process and found guilty of committing acts of terrorism; South Africa convicted him. It is very shocking for any group of Nigerians to issue threats.
What we expect is for all Nigerians to show patriotism and support to the government.”
The minister explained that the peace in the Niger Delta was the result of the Amnesty programme of the government, which was instituted to train and empower the youths of the region at home and abroad.
He, therefore, appealed to all militant groups to allow the peace in the Niger Delta to endure, stressing that a return to violence would not augur well for the progress of the region.