Leader of the Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF), High Chief Sobomabo Jackrich, a.k.a. Egberipapa, has petitioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, seeking urgent intervention to integrate his camp into the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), and to commence a full audit of the programme’s finances.

In the detailed petition submitted to the State House this week, Jackrich said over 4,000 former agitators under Egberipapa Camp have remained outside the framework of PAP for 17 years, despite a 2021 resolution of the Senate directing their integration and the allocation of 2,000 slots to the group.

He warned that further delay could undermine peace in the Niger Delta and push frustrated youths toward “self-help.”

Jackrich recalled that on 13 April 2021, he submitted a formal petition to the 9th Senate through the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions. The petition alleged the exclusion and marginalisation of members of Egberipapa Camp from PAP, despite their participation in the disarmament process that birthed the amnesty initiative under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2009.

According to the petition, the Senate Committee conducted legislative hearings on the matter. In its recommendations, the Committee resolved that Egberipapa Camp/NDLF should be integrated into PAP and allocated 2,000 slots.

In a follow-up correspondence dated 8 June 2021, the Committee also directed the then Interim Administrator of PAP to provide explanations on how funds appropriated to the programme were utilised and to submit documentary evidence of slot allocations to various camps.

“Copies of the relevant Senate documents, correspondence and resolutions are annexed to this petition for Your Excellency’s consideration,” Jackrich stated. He said those documents prove the matter was not an informal complaint but one that had received full legislative attention.

The NDLF leader told President Tinubu that the failure to implement the Senate resolutions had created “a profound sense of injustice” among the affected former agitators and their families.

He added that the delay had placed an “extraordinary burden” on him personally. 

“I have personally carried substantial welfare responsibilities for members of the affected group for many years while awaiting resolution of the Federal Government’s intervention. The resulting frustration has become increasingly difficult to manage,” he wrote.

Jackrich stressed that the petition was not meant to revisit an old grievance, but to seek closure on an issue that has remained in “administrative limbo” since 2009.

A major part of the petition focused on the potential security implications. Jackrich noted that for years, members of his camp had been urged to pursue lawful channels. But with no resolution in sight, frustration is rising.

“I am increasingly concerned that, if the matter remains unresolved, some aggrieved persons may become tempted to resort to self-help or other unlawful means of expressing their grievances,” he warned.

He clarified that the statement was “not as a threat to Your Excellency or to the Federal Government, but as a sincere warning about the consequences of allowing a longstanding grievance involving a large number of young people in an oil-producing region to remain unresolved indefinitely.”

He urged the President to treat the petition as a “preventive intervention” that would “restore confidence in the Amnesty process, prevent avoidable escalation, and demonstrate that legitimate grievances can be resolved through lawful institutions.”

Beyond his camp’s case, Jackrich asked the President to order a review of the entire slot allocation system in PAP. 

He requested that government establish, through an independent process: the original criteria for identifying beneficiaries; the number of slots approved annually since 2009; how many slots went to each recognised camp; and the basis for excluding some groups.

He also asked for records of the names and categories of beneficiaries, “subject to applicable privacy and data-protection requirements,” and for clarity on the financial obligations attached to the allocations.

“Such a review would not only address the Petitioner’s grievance but could strengthen public confidence in the Programme,” he argued.

Jackrich further called for an independent forensic and performance audit of PAP from inception to date. He noted that the programme is funded from public resources appropriated by the National Assembly, including the “substantial provision” made in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

Rather than allege impropriety, he said an audit would either confirm proper management or expose deficiencies for correction.

The audit, he proposed, should cover: total funds appropriated and released; actual expenditure vs appropriation; spending on administration, training, education and empowerment; procurement and contracts; beneficiary and camp allocations; slot allocation records; outstanding liabilities; and compliance with procurement and audit laws.

“If the Programme has been properly managed, such an audit would provide an opportunity to establish that fact conclusively,” he stated.

The petitioner told President Tinubu that PAP was created as “an instrument of peace, reconciliation, rehabilitation, reintegration and development.” 

He said where beneficiaries believe they were excluded contrary to government decisions or legislative resolutions, “their grievances should be conclusively examined and determined.”

He listed three national objectives for presidential intervention: restoring confidence in government’s commitment to justice; preventing frustration from degenerating into a security challenge; and strengthening accountability in PAP.

Jackrich made eight specific requests. They include: directing PAP to implement the Senate resolution on 2,000 slots for Egberipapa Camp; verifying the status of affected ex-agitators; producing historical slot allocation records; ordering an independent audit; investigating why Senate resolutions remain unimplemented; directing the National Security Adviser to engage stakeholders; and setting a time-bound mechanism for resolution.

He also requested an audience with the President or any designated panel to present original documents and evidence.

Despite the grievance, Jackrich commended the Tinubu administration for efforts to boost crude oil production and sustain Niger Delta intervention programmes. He said his approach remained peaceful and institutional.

“The Petitioner’s earnest desire is that the affected former agitators continue to believe in the Nigerian State and that their grievances can be resolved through lawful and constitutional processes rather than through frustration or self-help,” the petition concluded.

The Presidential Amnesty Programme was established in 2009 to disarm and reintegrate militants in the Niger Delta. It provides stipends, education, vocational training and empowerment to ex-agitators.