‘I Risked My Life for Niger Delta Peace’ — Goodluck Jonathan

• “I risked my life for Niger Delta peace,” former President Goodluck Jonathan recalled how he entered a militant camp without armed security while serving as vice president

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has revealed how he risked his life by visiting a Niger Delta militant camp without armed security while serving as vice president, describing the move as a turning point in the peace process that led to the Amnesty Programme.

Jonathan made the disclosure on Monday while delivering the chairman’s address at the De Mangrove Conversation held at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Conference Hall in Yenagoa.

The event was organised in collaboration with the Bayelsa State Government, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Renaissance Africa Energy and the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation.

Reflecting on his connection with the oil-producing region, Jonathan said his relationship with the petroleum industry began in childhood when oil facilities were established near his community in present-day Bayelsa State.

He added that his career later shifted from academia into environmental management, where he participated in scientific studies assessing the environmental impact of oil exploration across the Niger Delta.

Jonathan said his experiences as a scientist, governor, vice president and president gave him a deeper understanding of the region’s longstanding challenges.

Recounting the peace negotiations with Niger Delta militants, Jonathan said he insisted on personally visiting one of the camps despite warnings from security officials.

“As the vice president, I was to go and negotiate to bring peace to the Niger Delta. And I was to visit all the camps, including Camp One that you all know very well… all the boys disturbing all facilities respect those in Camp One,” he said.

Jonathan explained that after arriving at the waterfront in Warri, Delta State, the militants sent word that they were prepared to receive him, but warned that no member of his delegation should carry weapons into the camp.

“The Niger Delta militants sent words across to me that they were ready to receive me, but nobody should carry gun and follow me and that if any of my team members carry a weapon, there will be exchange of fire,” he recalled.

According to the former president, both the Delta State Commissioner of Police and the State Director of the State Security Service advised him against proceeding with the visit.

“The Commissioner of Police in Delta State said ‘Mr Vice President, you will not go.’ The State Director of SSS said ‘Sir, you will not go.’ I told them I will go. There must be peace and development in the Niger Delta,” Jonathan said.

He disclosed that he ordered his Chief Security Officer (CSO) and Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to surrender their firearms before accompanying him into the militant camp.

“I told them if we come back alive, you get your guns back and we will go back to Abuja,” he said.

Jonathan described walking through two rows of armed militants before holding negotiations that lasted about one and a half hours.

According to him, the meeting marked the beginning of a peace process that culminated in the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme.

“That meeting led to the birth of Amnesty granted to the Niger Delta militants… Amnesty is still there till today. That was the beginning of peace in the Niger Delta region,” he added.

Jonathan stressed that sustainable peace in the Niger Delta depends on tackling environmental degradation and addressing decades of neglect, urging stakeholders to keep the development of the region a national priority.