BREAKING: “Otuaro Told Me PAP Paid Stipends Into Closed UBA Accounts” — Opubow Camp Leader Petitions Army, DSS
By Passman Akpos
YENAGOA, BAYELSA — Fresh controversy has emerged over the management of stipend payments under the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) following petitions submitted to the Commander of the 16 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Yenagoa, and the State Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Bayelsa State Command, by the Leader of Opubow Camp, Passman Akpos.
In the petitions dated July 20, 2026, Akpos, who is also the Publisher of Tarakirivoice Newspaper Enterprise, is seeking urgent intervention over the prolonged non-resolution of stipend payment issues affecting 31 beneficiaries of Opubow Camp.
According to the petitions, the affected beneficiaries received official notifications from the United Bank for Africa (UBA) on October 11, 2025, informing them that their accounts had been closed due to Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance issues. Akpos said he immediately notified the Presidential Amnesty Programme, attached copies of the bank notifications, and formally requested that the beneficiaries’ monthly stipends be redirected to their newly opened bank accounts.
Despite several letters and follow-up communications over the following months, he said the matter remained unresolved, leaving the beneficiaries in financial distress.
A major revelation contained in the petitions is that Akpos stated it was the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Chief Dennis Brutus Otuaro, PhD, who personally informed him during a WhatsApp call on July 14, 2026, that stipend payments covering the period from October 2025 to May 2026 had continued to be paid into the affected UBA accounts, despite the beneficiaries having earlier notified the PAP that those accounts had been closed.
According to Akpos, Otuaro requested that he submit another letter containing the beneficiaries’ new bank account details, a request he said he complied with immediately by forwarding the required information to the PAP.
The petitions further state that, despite the communication from the PAP Administrator and the submission of the requested documents, the 31 affected beneficiaries are still awaiting clarification on the status of those payments and, where applicable, payment of their outstanding stipends.
Akpos said the prolonged uncertainty has inflicted severe hardship on many of the beneficiaries and their families, noting that the monthly stipends constitute their primary means of livelihood.
In his petition to the Commander of the 16 Brigade, the Opubow Camp leader appealed for the Nigerian Army’s intervention in facilitating communication with the appropriate authorities to ensure a peaceful and timely resolution of the matter. He stressed that resolving legitimate grievances under the Presidential Amnesty Programme is essential to sustaining peace, stability, and confidence in the Federal Government’s Niger Delta peace initiative.
In a separate petition to the Department of State Services (DSS), Akpos requested an investigation into the matter and urged the agency to determine whether the stipends for the affected beneficiaries from October 2025 to May 2026 were actually processed, the accounts into which the funds were paid, whether the PAP received and acted upon the notifications of the account closures, and whether any administrative lapses contributed to the prolonged delay.
The petitions also provide the contact details of Chief Dennis Brutus Otuaro and his Technical Adviser, Mr. Edgar BIU, to enable the security agencies obtain clarification regarding the information communicated to the camp leader and the processing of the affected beneficiaries’ records.
Akpos maintained that the petitions were submitted in good faith and through lawful means, emphasizing that his objective is to ensure transparency, accountability, and a peaceful resolution of the hardship being experienced by the affected beneficiaries.
Copies of the petitions included the UBA account closure notifications dated October 11, 2025, as supporting documents.
As of the time of filing this report, there has been no public response from the Presidential Amnesty Programme, the Nigerian Army, or the Department of State Services regarding the petitions or the claims contained in them.
