Nigerian Ex-Militants Transferred To Police Headquarters

The Western Regional Police Command has transferred the 27 Nigerians said to be former militants from the Delta State to the Police headquarters in Accra for further investigation. This followed the attempt of the former militants to drown their co-ordinator in a hotel toilet and their assault of an attendant of the hotel where they were lodging to register their protest against the unfair handling of some financial issues by the co-ordinator. The suspects were said to have told the police and officials of the hotel that they were former militants from the Delta State of Nigeria and that they were in the country for a six-month amnesty training programme on technical skills in the country’s National Vocational Training Institutes (NVTIs). They claimed to be about 2,000, with the first batch of 210 arriving and being sent to Accra, Takoradi, Winneba and Kumasi vocational training institutes for training. They explained that they had undergone a course in violence control and had certificates as proof. The police said they have launched investigations into the backgrounds of those arrested and would transfer them to Accra where they would be prosecuted for holding their co-ordinator hostage in an attempt to drown him and assaulting an attendant of the hotel. The Western Regional Police Commander, Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, said they were nationals of a sister country and had to be treated with care while investigations continued. Nigerian High Commission officials will meet the Nigerians in Accra for the next line of action.