MEND declares indefinite ceasefire – The Nation
October 26, 2009 by Bunmi Awolusi
A milestone was reached yesterday in the desperate battle for peace in the Niger Delta. The main armed group, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), declared an indefinite ceasefire.
The news came even as Defence Minister Maj.-Gen. Godwin Abbe announced that 15,000 militants surrendered their arms under the amnesty programme of the Federal Government.
MEND said it was encouraged by the government’s latest posture towards dialogue and finding lasting solutions to the problems of the Niger Delta.
According to the group, the decision is “to encourage dialogue between the government and the team that we have selected to negotiate our demand for a lasting peace in the Niger Delta region”.
MEND crippled oil production by nearly 50 per cent of about one million barrels of crude oil per day in the past one year.
