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By Amos Odeh, Yenagoa
A Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa on Thursday summoned Prof Charles Dokubo, head of Presidential Amnesty Office, to personally appear before it over allegations of diversion of amnesty slots.
The court, presided over by Justice Awogboro Abimbola, also ordered that Dokubo appears before her on October 4 with the director of Finance and Accounts in the Amnesty Office, Mr Isaac Ityohuma.
Also subpoenaed is Mr Aroloye Brown, head of Reintegration in the Amnesty Office.
Some 75 ex-militants who accepted the presidential amnesty in 2010 had dragged the coordinator of the scheme, Prof Charles Dokubo, to court for diverting their slots and accruable stipends since 2011.
The militants, led by Mr Clinton Oroupade, are demanding payment of outstanding N492,375,000 being accrued stipends for the 75 members of the camp from January 2011 to May 2019.
The ex-militants, under the Benuwolo camp in the 2nd phase of the amnesty scheme, brought the action before a Federal High Court in Yenagoa.
At the inaugural hearing on Thursday, leader of the 75 plaintiffs, Oroupade, told the trial judge, Justice Abimbola, that the group were documented and allocated 75 slots but received no stipends afterwards.
He tendered several documents, agreements and affidavits from prior efforts by the Amnesty office to resolve the issue by reverting 10 of the 75 slots.
The Amnesty Office defense team, led by Mr Tamaratarei Ali-Bozi, did not object to the documents tendered.
The ex-agitators urged the court to declare that the alleged fraudulent manipulation of the 75 slots allotted to the Benuwolo camp by officials of the Amnesty Office, in connivance with some ex-militants, is unlawful.
The militants had in their statement of claims filed by their counsel, Mr. Richard Turner, urged the court to order the Amnesty Office to revert the 75 slots of the camp and halt further diversion of slots by the office.
The judge adjourned the case to October 4 for continuation of hearing after taking evidences from Oroupade who served also as a plaintiff’s witness.
