Amnesty Office denies owing BIU graduates

The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator, Amnesty Programme, Prof Charles Dokubo, has denied reports that ex-militants, who graduated from Benson Idahosa University, BIU, Benin City, Edo State, had not been paid their stipends.

Dokubo, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Murphy Ganagana, described the claims as misleading, saying the allowances of all ex-agitators, who graduated from the institution had been paid.

He said: “Contrary to the claim that they were still being owed for three months after graduating from the institution, we wish to clarify that they were paid stipends and allowances up till June 2018, which was their graduation period and month of exit from the institution. They were among the set of graduates for which a convocation ceremony was held on July 7, 2018.

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“Specifically, 79 graduating students of BIU, under the Amnesty Programme, were paid stipends and allowances up till June 2018, when all of them had their final examination. It is pertinent to state that payment of entitlements to Amnesty Programme beneficiaries undergoing educational programmes stopped as soon as the delegate completed the final examination for graduation.

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Therefore, the Amnesty Office does not owe the recently graduated students of BIU any other financial obligation on the scholarship granted them since they had completed their studies and exited the institution.”