Here are key developments in Venezuela since a band of soldiers briefly rose up against President Nicolas Maduro on January 21, with an opposition leader declaring himself "acting president" days later. - January 21: Brief uprising - A group of soldiers take control of a command post north of Caracas in the early hours. In…

The Defence Headquarters yesterday accused Amnesty International of sabotaging the ongoing anti-insurgency fight in Nigeria by deeds and actions capable of dampening the morale of the combatants. At a press conference in Kaduna, the Acting Director of Defence Information, Brigadier-General John Agim, alleged that the global agency had designed counter-productive plans to frustrate the war…

Over 420 militants, kidnappers and cultists have again embraced the amnesty programme offered by Akwa Ibom State government. The criminal gang from Etim Ekpo and Ukanafun local council areas surrendered their weapons to the amnesty committee, comprising heads of security agencies in the state. The Guardian recalls that about 264 cultists, kidnappers and militants who…

Some angry former militants yesterday barricaded the Mbiama end of the busy East-West Road impeding human and vehicular movements for hours. With placards reading messages like “pay us our money”, “Amnesty office pay us”, among others, the ex-agitatotors, led by ‘General’ Cairo, said they were protesting over their alleged non-inclusion in the amnesty programme after…

Criticsal stakeholders in the Niger Delta have urged the Federal Government to concede to the restructuring of the country, saying the amnesty programme cannot solve the myriads of problems confronting the region. The eminent personnel include: The Amanyanabo of Abonnema, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, Prof G.G. Darah of the Literature in English Department, Delta State University…

Some leaders of the Niger Delta yesterday advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to toy with the funding of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in the interest of peace and security in the region. Their advice was contained in a statement issued at the end of a stakeholders’ meeting held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State yesterday. It was…

A 73-year-old Amnesty International volunteer appeared in court in France on Wednesday charged with helping two underage Africans illegally enter the country, the latest case involving activists assisting migrants on the move through Europe. The trial of pensioner Martine Landry is the first of its kind in France involving a member of Amnesty. It comes…

Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has described a recent report by Amnesty International (AI) as a gross disservice to the nation’s security command. DHQ said the action of AI seemed geared towards “weakening the efforts of the Nigerian military at ensuring peace and security in the country.” “The DHQ has observed that Amnesty International has made it…

Faced with an imminent collapse of the oil industry, President Umaru Yar’Adua, in June 2009, offered amnesty to militants in the Niger Delta to save the nation’s economy from collapse, and stem the growing insecurity in the region. In a nutshell, the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), was conceived as a means of resolving protracted security…

The President, Pan Niger Delta Youth Leadership Forum (PanDLEAF) and a former member of the Presidential Amnesty Committee Mr. Richard Akinaka, in this interview with ANIETIE AKPAN, described the Presidential Amnesty Programme as a failure because the other components that were supposed to compliment the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) were not attended to. How…

A militant group in Ondo State, the United Sea Wolf Avenger, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for incorporating militants in the state into the Federal Government Amnesty programme. The group, in a statement by its leaders, General Deji Ehinmowo and General Secretary, Akinfemi Raymond, appealed to the Federal Government not to extend its Amnesty programmes…

To stem the wave of bloodletting by rival cult groups and restore peace to crisis-ridden communities, the Rivers State government has offered a blanket amnesty to anyone who drops his arms to embrace peace.