About 2,000 cult members on Saturday embraced the amnesty declared by the Rivers State Government.
The
cult members, who were involved in kidnappings, killings and armed
robberies in the past, surrendered their weapons before members of the
state Amnesty Committee in Isiokpo, the headquarters of Ikwerre Local
Government Area of the state.
Some of the weapons surrendered by them included AK 47 rifles, G3, dane guns, dynamite, NATO gun and detonators.
Speaking
shortly after receiving weapons from the repentant militants, the
Chairman of the Amnesty Committee, Mr. Ken Chinda, explained that peace
was expected to return to Ikwerre council area after the event.
Identifying
the cult groups as Iceland and Debam, Chinda charged them to not to go
back to crime, adding that the state government was sincere about
helping them to achieve their dreams.
Chinda warned that soldiers would fish out militants that refused to accept the amnesty declared by Governor Nyesom Wike.
He also declared two of the cult leaders, Samuel Nkasiobi, aka
Italian, and Okechukwu Amadi, aka Gunboat as enemies of the state for
refusing to accept amnesty.
“We are all witnesses to what some
misguided youths have done in Ikwerre LGA where people are predominantly
farmers. Many could not farm because the militants are living in the
forest where their farms are located,” Chinda added.
He urged them to shun acts capable of discouraging investors from doing business in the state.
Earlier,
the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Ikwerre LGA, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike,
explained that with the repentance of the cult members, farmers would be
free to work on their farms.
The council chairman said the two
cult leaders, who refused to accept the state government’s amnesty,
would be declared wanted after a week.
He added that the sum of N10m would be paid to anybody that could give any information on their whereabouts.
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