Former militants who surrendered their weapons in the hope of a better life say they are now facing a different kind of battle — hunger, illness, and neglect.

For more than a decade, several former fighters registered under the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme say they have been completely cut off from the monthly stipends promised by the government.

Commander Ratiy Dressman, a senior former agitator, says the situation has become unbearable. According to him, numerous registered beneficiaries from his former unit have not received their allowances since 2013.

At the center of the allegations is Paul Eris, popularly known as Ogunbos, who, according to Dressman and other affected ex-fighters, tightly controls the payments meant for members of the camp.

Among those allegedly impacted is Clinton, a former camp driver who served under Ogunbos during the militant years. Clinton has reportedly been critically ill for about five years and is currently unable to walk or speak.

His family is struggling to afford basic medical care, while, according to the allegations, his monthly Amnesty stipend continues to be drawn through the system controlled by Ogunbos without reaching the sick man.

The complaints extend beyond Peremabiri to neighboring communities in Diabu, where former fighters say they have been left without the financial support guaranteed under the Amnesty programme.

The ex-fighters also allege that while the official monthly allowance of ₦65,000 per beneficiary is paid into a central account controlled by Ogunbos, even those who real member of the camp he managed to pay receive only ₦30,000 or ₦40,000, with the balance allegedly withheld.

Those who dare to protest, they claim, risk losing their stipends altogether.
The former fighters further accuse Ogunbos of maintaining an iron grip over local affairs in Peremabiri long after the militant era ended. They claim he installed loyalists in positions of leadership to manipulate local opportunities and community resources.

They also allege that when oil companies offer minor jobs intended for community youths, Ogunbos frequently bypasses the community to bring in outside workers from Calabar, leaving indigenous youths without employment.

Another major grievance centers on a community project awarded by Agip to Peremabiri to build a lodge for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.
According to the former fighters, Ogunbos allegedly seized the project and diverted the materials and funds to build a private residence for himself. 

They say it took a fierce struggle by community members to reclaim the property and ensure it was registered as government property.

These ongoing abuses have prompted former fighters to demand immediate action from the federal government.

Commander Dressman and other affected ex-fighters are calling on the Presidential Amnesty Office to immediately freeze all payments to Ogunbos's account. 

They are demanding a thorough investigation into the handling of their allowances over the past 13 years, the direct payment of stipends to individual bank accounts, and urgent humanitarian assistance for critically ill former fighters like Clinton.

For men who surrendered their weapons in exchange for rehabilitation and a fresh start, the question now is whether the authorities will intervene before their struggle for survival turns into another tragedy in the creeks.