Two strong pressure groups of Niger Delta extraction known as Niger Delta Nationalities Forum, Lagos led by Manijar Seigha and Ijaw Rennaissance Front led by Ebi Dakoru have thrown their weight behind Federal Government on the amnesty it recently gave to the militants in the Niger Delta.

In a joint statement issued after a meeting in Lagos, they said their acceptance of the amnesty deal was not because Federal Government has performed well but to let it prove its failure beyond reasonable doubt.

"It is not because Federal Government has performed well, it is not because our people are afraid, it is not because Federal Government will outwit them, it is not even because Federal Government has done what it is expected of it but because we want the government to prove its failure beyond reasonable doubt," they said.

Recalling that militancy in the area began after due consultation among over 500 Ijaw youth groups in 1998 following the 'Kaima Declaration', the groups explained that at that time a two-pronged strategy of holding expatriate oil workers hostage and disruption of oil flow to draw international attention to the plight of the Niger Delta people was adopted.

"The two strategies became important following government's failure to attend to the cry of the elders and leaders of Niger Delta. It was becoming clear to the youths of Niger Delta, particularly the Ijaw youths at the core riverine territories, that their future in the Nigerian project was dimming by the day. However, it was also agreed that the expatriates held will not be hurt or killed," the statement stated.

The group lamented that rather than acknowledge the plight of the militant agitators, Federal Government decided to send security personnel with arms to shoot at them, a position that aggravated the reasoning of the militant agitators from their earlier passive position to a more secretive and economic based strategy.