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Tag: Bayelsa State

  • Armed robbers rape corps member in Bayelsa

    An unidentified female member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has been raped by a gang of armed robbers in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

    It was gathered that the hoodlums, who were engaged in house-to-house robbery at Yenizue Gene, a suburb of Yenagoa, attacked the corps member’s apartment located in the area on Sunday morning.

    The armed robbers numbering about three stormed the area at about 3am and fired several gunshots into the air to scare away a vigilance group, whose members were only carrying sticks and cutlasses.

    They were said to have robbed the victim of his mobile phones, cash and other valuables and later raped her.

    A resident, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said they took turns on the victim despite her pleas for mercy.

    “She has, however, been taken to the hospital for treatment”, the source said.

    Read Also:Court sentences 35-year-old to two years jail term for rape

    Sources said the police were alerted but that they could only do little following the blackout in Yenagoa.

    The Port-Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) has since November last year thrown the entire state including Yenagoa into darkness.

    The development has led to upsurge in criminal activities especially cult-related killings and armed robberies.

    A local vigilance member, Tonye, said the security men, who arrived the robbery scene, were afraid they could run into an ambush laid by the hoodlums.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident and said three armed robbers were involved in the crime.

    He said the traumatised corps member reported the matter to the police station including the way the hoodlums took turns on her.

    Butswat noted that the victim also made useful statement on the identities of the armed robbers adding that the police immediately launched a manhunt on them.

  • 27,000 workers in our payrolls are fake, says Bayelsa govt

    The Bayelsa State Government on Thursday said 27,000 ghost and illegal workers had so far been discovered in the payrolls of the state and the local government areas.

    The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the ongoing public sector reforms in the state led to the bizarre discovery.

    The commissioner, who spoke in Sagbama, Sagbama Local Government Area, at the ongoing town hall meeting on reforms, explained that the development had brought the state’s workforce from 56,000 to 27,000 workers.

    Crowd of stakeholders from Sagbama, the local government area of Governor Seriake Dickson attended the meeting and unanimously through voice votes endorsed the ongoing reforms in the state.

    Iworiso-Markson said: “Look at what has happened through the reforms. From 54,000 workers, with reforms we are now 27,000 workers in the entire state. It means that the difference of about 27,000 workers is fake people.

    “Since 1996 that the state was created, it is only now that we are realizing that our state is being shortchanged. It means that billions of naira has entered into the pockets of some people. They are the people fighting these reforms.

    “The people against these reforms are those who are taking advantage of our collective wealth and appropriating it into their own personal pockets and putting all of us including the state in this terrible mess. When you hear them criticize the reforms, take note of them, it is very possible they are those shortchanging the state”

    Read Also: Professor dies in Bayelsa office

    The commissioner also lamented that some persons purchased their employments by paying between N250, 000 and N500, 000.

    He told the people of the council that the boldness and passion of their son had liberated Bayelsa adding that God raised Dickson for the purpose of sanitizing the state.

    Addressing the stakeholders, he said: “Your son has liberated us. God deliberately raised Governor Dickson for this purpose to clean up this system. Anybody that is embarking on reforms cannot be popular.

    “But Governor Dickson is not the kind of man that is looking for popularity. If you look for popularity you will not do the right thing. If you look for popularity, this mess will continue. My happiness is that all of us in attendance today are all in agreement that this reform must continue”.

    The commission further decried a situation where a syndicate perfected fraudulent means of collecting salaries of 35 persons by raising employment letters of real persons without their knowledge.

    Explaining how the syndicate operated, he said: “Until these reforms, you have people working in our civil service and the local government. One man would have almost like 35 people and he is drawing their salaries. Those people are real.

    “They have letters of employments but they don’t know because this one man included the names of his brothers, sisters, nephews and others. There were letters but they didn’t know they were employed in the local government and this one man is drawing their salary.

    “When we started the reforms, when this particular man noticed they were coming to verify and they would be asking questions, he called all those people whose names were on the payroll and told them that their local government had just given them employment.

    He told them to come and do verifications. Those people were surprised when they looked at their letter and discovered that their letters were backdated to five years ago. It means that the man has been collecting their salaries for the past five years. That was how bad it was and the reforms came to stop it”.

    Explaining the gains of the reforms, the Caretaker Committee Chairman, Sagbama, Michael Magbisa said the council had so far saved N13m monthly from council’s workers’ salaries.

    He said about 42 dead persons were removed from the council’s teaching sector adding that N28m was being saved monthly from the teachers’ salaries.

    He said the health workers’ salaries also reduced from N57m to N56m following some adjustments rectifications abnormalities in the health sector.

    In his remarks, the Secretary-General, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Alfred Kemepado hailed the governor for implementing the reforms saying the process came to address the problems in Bayelsa.

    Insisting that the reforms would create opportunities for the youths, Kemepado said the governor was only correcting the wrong foundation laid by his predecessors following the creation of the state.

    “The governor is doing what others could not do. Let us applaud him”, he said adding that Dickson also introduced human face to the process by his declaration that no genuine worker would be sacked.

  • Dickson orders arrest of LG official

    For collecting 300 persons’ salaries monthly

     

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson has ordered the arrest of an official of a local government area for collecting the salaries of 300 persons as his wages every month.

    The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, disclosedon Monday that the official defrauded the council for many years before the ongoing public sector reforms in the state exposed the sleaze.

    Speaking at the made the beginning of a town hall meeting on civil service reforms in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state, the commissioner said the suspect was an accountant in one of the local government areas at the Central Senatorial District.

    Though the commissioner refused to disclose the name of the suspect and the particular local council where he worked, Yenagoa, Southern Ijaw and Kolokuma-Opokuma are local councils at the centre.

    But Iworiso-Markson said the suspect had defrauded council to the tune of hundreds of millions of naira before Dickson’s reforms caught up with him.

    He said the fraudulent local government worker was known for acquiring choice houses, estates and parcels of land across the state.

    Iworiso-Markson said: “Recently, Governor Seriake Dickson had to order the arrest of an official of a council. He (the official) was collecting salaries of 300 people. Yearly, the officer fraudulently receives hundreds of millions of naira.

    “That is in just one LGA and there are many places like that in the state. Some people are employed in civil service today, yet there is no document in their files. Instead, they were employed with affidavit.

    Read Also: Dickson lied on plot to destabilize Bayelsa, says Sylva

    The same people who do not have any documents and qualifications are collecting salaries of level 14 workers and above.

    “At the Bayelsa State Transport Company, you find a situation whereby you have about 180 drivers, but there are only five or six vehicles for them to drive. You can see the level of rot in the system. So, if we must be sincere to ourselves, we must all agree to join hands with the government to clean the mess in the system.”

    He insisted that the reform had come to stay, appealing to  the people of Bayelsa to collectively redeem the state from collapse.

    He said though people kicked against reform everywhere, sanitising the state’s public sector must be done to reedem the image of Bayelsa.

    He said: “Today, everywhere you go now, people talk of Bayelsa as a model. All these are because of the bold steps the Seriake Dickson-led administration has taken to redeem the state from payroll fraudsters and syndicates.

    “This government has initiated a lot of programmes since its assumption of office six years ago and those programmes have become a reference point to other states. We want to assure the people that the reform has human face. Governor Dickson has reiterated that nobody will be sacked  except those who use their hands to sack themselves.

    “People who falsify their documents, their ages, buy appointment letters, earning salaries from more than one place and other criminal acts have used their own hands to sack themselves.”

    Also speaking, the Chairman, People’s Democratic Party Caucus in the state, Chief Godwin Odinka, hailed the Governor for initiating the reforms.

    He said that successive administrations in the state could not muster the political will to carry out such programmes.

    The 86-year-old Odinka, advised that in cleaning up the system, care should be taken not to make the reform look as a witch-hunt.

    He said: “In cleaning the system, caution must be exercised so that people will not think it is intended as a witch-hunt on workers. What we want in this reform is a win-win situation.

    “We must commend Governor Dickson for his courage in initiating these reforms in the civil service. Past administrations in the state could not do it because they lack the political will and courage to do so. We are advocating that the reforms should have human face.”

    In his remarks, the Caretaker Chairman, Yenagoa LGA, Mr. Oboku Oforji, said the reforms recorded positive impact on the revenue of the council.

    He said the council was able to realise millions of naira from payroll fraudsters, a situation that had improved the resources of the council.

    He said when the reforms began, the council had a total staff strength of 1,483 but as of 2018, after weeding out ghost workers, the staff strength was slightly over 900.

  • Dickson lauds Buhari on Abiola, demands action on restructuring

    Asks FG to honour Humphery Nwosu

    Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson on Friday commended President Muhammadu Buhari for immortalizing the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola.

    The governor said that, though, the award was belated, the gesture would partly address the wrongs of the past and strengthen democracy, insisting that, it was better late than never.

    But the governor  called on PMB to declare Abiola as a President that was never sworn in and urgently sponsor an executive bill to the National Assembly in order to legitimize it.

    He said declaring June 12 as Democracy Day, giving national honour to Abiola’s running mate,  Ambassador Babagana Kingibe as well as, giving posthumous national awards to Abiola and the late legal luminary, Chief Gani Fawehinmi were in order.

    The governor, however, called on Buhari to show the same political will and patriotism on the critical issue of restructuring Nigeria.

    He said the President should ensure that Nigeria is restructured with power devolved from the centre to the federating units and fiscal federalism enthroned to guarantee balance, peace, prosperity and stability in the country.

    He said a restructured Nigeria would address the dysfunctional system, over concentration of power at the centre, pseudo- federalism and the expropriation of the resources of the Niger Delta.

    Read Also: Abiola, Gani families hail Buhari for honours

    While stressing that, those championing the cause of restructuring were the real patriots, the governor believed Buhari would etch his name on the sands of time and become “a Nigerian hero of all times, if he restructures the country.”

    The governor  also urged the President to honour the then Chairman of National Electoral Commission (NEC), Professor Humphrey Nwosu with a national award for his uncommon courage and commitment to the conduct of  transparent elections in June, 1993,  stressing that, what is good for the goose is also saucy for the gander.

    He said: “I commend the President for the courage to immortalize the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election with the highest national honour of GCFR as well as declaring June 12 as Democracy Day.

    “Having honored Abiola with the highest award only reserved for presidents or heads of state, I urge him to declare Abiola a president that was never sworn in, and then go a step further to Gazette and sponsor a bill to the National Assembly to legitimize his proclamations backed by law.

    “He should also honour the then Chairman of National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Humphrey Nwosu for the courage to conduct a transparent election for what is good for the goose is same for the gander.

    “As member of House of Reps, I co-sponsored a bill to immortalize MKO Abiola to address the wrong done to Abiola and our democracy. So I believe by the president’s proclamation, he continued from where we stopped and in my opinion, it was the right thing to do.

    “Though it is belated but it is better late than never! I want the President to show the same political will and patriotism on the burning issue of Restructuring Nigeria to address the wrong done to the Nigeria people.

    “I believe restructuring will balance the dysfunctional system, guarantee peace, prosperity and stability in the country where everybody has equal stake. Those clamouring for restructuring are the real patriots. PMB will etch his name on the sands of time and become a Nigerian hero of all times if he restructures the country”.

  • FRSC partners police, military, others on highway security

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Bayelsa State Command, has teamed up with the police, the military and other sister security agencies to ensure security on the highways.

    At a workshop in Yenagoa at the weekend, FRSC emphasized the need for synergy between the corps and security agencies to tackle highway insecurity.

    The FRSC said all the security agencies – military and paramilitary, were saddled with the same goal of maintaining law and order in the country.

    The workshop was attended by personnel of the FRSC, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security services.

    The  Zonal Commanding Officer, FRSC, Port Harcourt Zone, Mr. Kingsley Agomoh,  said traffic management was becoming increasingly complex in Nigeria.

    He commended the Bayelsa State Command of the corps for building the capacity of its staff, noting that the command was ranked third in the whole country during the assessments of states in traffic management.

    Addressing the participants, the State Sector Commander, Mr. Ikechukwu Igwe, said the workshop, entitled, “Highway Security: Need for Synergy’”, was aimed at building trust among personnel to work in collaboration with other sister agencies for the interest of peace and tranquility in the state.

    Read Also: FRSC begins recruitment of new personnel — Spokesman

    The Sector Commander harped on the need for partnership to ensure protection of lives and properties on the highway.

    Ikechukwu said: “During this workshop, we are going to look at the advantages of working together instead of working in isolation. Security job is just like a tyre in a vehicle. The tyre carries the vehicle.

    “When you look at the tyre, you have rims and other parts. No one can work without the other. You remove the valve, it will not work; you remove the rim, it will not work, you can see that each one needs the other to function.

    “For instance,  I cannot say because I am a road safety official, I see a stolen car and I will not report to the police; I cannot see a person carrying illicit drugs and fail to report to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

    “I cannot say because I am a road safety official, I will see somebody carrying children in a way that looks suspicious and I will not alert NAPTIP or Immigration. We see that one way or the other, we need one another.

    “At the officers’ level, we do not have problems. But at the lower levels, there is need for a synergy and that is why we have come together to look at ways we can contribute  so that we can achieve the purpose for which the government pays all of us.”

    In his remarks, the Bayelsa State Police Commissioner, Mr. Don Awunah,  said that inter-agency relation was necessary to achieve maximum security for the people.

    Awunah, represented by a police officer, Osagi Agans-Irabor, noted that joint operations were good, saying it would in the system execution of their duties.

    He said; “When we collaborate, we can complement each other’s weakness and strength. I commend the FRSC for this workshop and we will continue to support each other in securing the environment.”

    On his part, the State Commandant, NSCDC, Godwin Nwachukwu, said the command was also ready to support the FRSC operations to ensure more security on the highway.

    Nwachukwu said:  “Individually, we cannot achieve it, but when we do it collectively, we can have better results.

    “We must support each other because we (the Army, Navy among others) are working towards achieving the same objectives.

  • How I escaped sex slavery in Europe – Diete-Spiff’s wife

    The Queen of Brass Kingdom, Josephine Diete-Spiff, on Friday, narrated her experience on how she escaped being trafficked to Europe for sex slavery.

    Queen Josephine, wife of the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council, King Alfred Diette-Spiff, said she rejected all the antics of human traffickers including their pressure, threats and deceits.

    She said instead of accepting their offer, she resorted to doing menial jobs at dump sites in Benin City, Edo State, to survive.

    The monarch’s wife, who is also the Chairperson of the State Traditional Rulers Wives Association and the Niger Delta Royal Queen Forum, spoke during a call on her by members of the Young Mothers Support Foundation (YMSF).

    YMSF is an international non-governmental organization campaigning against teenage pregnancy and child molestation.

    Josephine said she turned down an offer from even her close friends to travel to Italy for sex slavery.

    The wife of the first Military Governor of old Rivers State, said: “I had to carry blocks, cement and sand at a dumpsite to train myself in school.

    Read Also: Human trafficking: Nigerian girls sold into sex slavery in Italy

    “There is no justification for any girl child to go into drugs or travel to Europe for prostitution when they have the opportunity to be educated and achieve greatness through self-determination.

    “I am very interested in this programme because it is a reflection of me. I grow up in Benin City where prostitution was very rampant in my days and I was almost drafted to be one of them but I said no.

    “As a woman, you can do anything that will get you to where you are outside prostitution, outside drugs or traveling to abroad to go and get molested and treated as less human. I have a lot of friends then who went abroad (Italy). Today, they beg me for stipends.

    “If people will learn how to read, you will be more advanced and you will be able to survive because life itself is full of troubles. So, there is no way you are going to escape it.

    “That is why I am interested in the girl-child to let them know I wasn’t waiting for the boy, I wasn’t waiting for government to give me money, I worked it out by myself.”

    “Today, I am proud to know that I am a woman who God used to be who I am today because I gave God the opportunity.

    “As a young woman even if you have made a mistake, don’t let your mistake stop you. Don’t let the circumstances you find yourself determine your future. Create one for yourself”.

  • Ijaw youths warn against plot to destabilise Bayelsa

    Ijaw youths at the weekend vowed to resist plots by some politicians to destabilise Bayelsa State ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    The youths said the politicization of the recent violence that unsettled Amassoma, a host community to the Niger Delta University (NDU) in Southern Ijaw, was an indication that some persons were promoting the crisis for political advantages.

    The Central Zone Chairman of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, Mr. Tari Pori, said it was unfortunate that “unscrupulous elements” encouraged the bloodshed in Amassoma to score political points.

    Speaking in Yenagoa, Pori said: “What happened in Amassoma a few days ago was quite sad, very unfortunate and of course without a doubt, avoidable. For us as ijaw youths, there is no gainsaying that people score political goals while blood is being shed, no sane ijaw youth will pray for the death of another ijaw youth. 

    “The IYC is not happy with the way and manner in which some of our leaders are going about it. When there is crisis, the best form of resolving it in this world is dialogue. You cannot resolve crisis with violence and those who are fanning the embers of war and crisis should go and ask those who had tasted one. 

    “I call on all political leaders in Bayelsa state to come together and support government, Amassoma community, the NDU to make sure that all the crises are resolved, instead of instigating more crisis to the already crisised environment.

    Read Also: Ijaw youths support Dickson’s succession plan

    “So the IYC under our leadership is working very closely with the government of Bayelsa state, the Amassoma community and the school management to resolving all the crisis lingering in Niger Delta university and that of Amassoma community”.

    Pori said the IYC was founded to defend and protect the rights of Ijaw people and thanked Governor Seriake Dickson, traditional rulers and other stakeholders for their inputs in resolving the crisis.

    He lamented that persons instigating the crisis sent their children to the best universities abroad and were only interested in playing politics with the blood of the youths.

    “We are very pained that this is a matter that could have been resolved through dialogue but a lot of people were fanning the embers of crisis and look at where it has led us to. 

    “The crisis in Amassoma is avoidable but unfortunately a lot of people are still writing on Facebook and other social media, politicians who are interested in the internet, causing crisis, who derive pleasure when there is crisis in ijaw land. 

    “We are begging them to join the IYC, join Amassoma community, the governor and the government of Bayelsa state, with a view to resolving the crisis instead of calling for war.

     “All our leaders who are interested in using other people’s blood to make money and gain cheap political popularity, we are warning them to desist from it because ijaw youths are not cowards and we will not allow any politician in Bayelsa to deceive ijaw youths”, he said.

    Pori sympathized with the families of the slain youths and appealed to all stakeholders to work against recurrence of such violence.

    He said: “For the umpteenth time let us again warn, all those ijaw leaders across the Ijaw nation, from Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa-ibom and Abuja, Lagos who are only interested in promoting crisis in Bayelsa state to should stop. 

    “Those who cannot even raise their heads in their states when there are issues should stop because the IYC central zone will not tolerate them. The ijaw leaders who are interested in promoting peace and tranquility, we commend you, ijaw youths will stand with you anyday anytime  but those who are interested in promoting crisis, don’t forget we serve a God who is fair to all. 

    “We call on all ijaw leaders to come together and rally round the governor and other well meaning ijaw leaders in order to promote ijaw national interest because in the end, it is the young people that are still suffering. 

    “Those who have used our common patrimony, our common wealth to make monies and wealth, to send their children abroad, who are interested in promoting crisis we appeal to you to please desist”.

  • Fire guts oil rig in Bayelsa

    Fire has engulfed an oil rig offshore Koluama, Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa State.

    It was gathered that the rig reportedly owned by Conoil was operated by the Depthwize Nigeria.

    The incident is coming six years after an explosion rocked an oil gas rig, operated by K.S Endeavour (Panama), near the North Apoi in koluama.

    The exploded Endeavour, which was owned by Chevron caused massive pollution in the waterways and triggered a global concern.

    Sources said oil workers of the Conoil rig were being evacuated as the inferno raged in the ocean.

  • Governor Dickson resolves Amassoma crisis

    …NDU to reopen soon

     

    The Bayelsa State Government, on Friday, took positive steps to resolve the crisis that engulfed Amassoma community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

    The State Governor, the Honourable Seriake Dickson, who held meetings with various stakeholders, including the leadership of the community and the Governing Council of the Niger Delta University (NDU), expressed regrets over the sad incident and assured that the government would pick the bills of the injured and the burial expenses of the victims.

    He said a formal delegation would also be sent to commiserate with the bereaved families while those detained by the police would be released, stressing that efforts were on to ensure the reopening of NDU to resume academic activities as soon as possible.

    He called on the people of the state to be wary of those he described as failed political leaders and desperate aspirants bent on fomenting crisis to destabilise the state.

    A press release by the Special Adviser on Public Affairs, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, said Governor Dickson, who was accompanied to the meeting with the Amassoma community by former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori, at the DSP Alamieyeseigha Banquet Hall in Yenagoa, described the incident as unfortunate, sad and avoidable and urged the people not to take the laws into their hands.

    He said the government would set up two separate committees to examine the immediate and remote causes of the disturbances as well as promote genuine reconciliation, peace and unity in Amassoma.

    Read Also: Bayelsa’s troubled university

    While noting that his administration had made unparalleled investments in the university, he decried the attitude of politicians who always capitalised on the institution as a vulnerable avenue to instigate crisis to blackmail the government.

    Governor Dickson urged Bayelsans to always guard against misinformation and propaganda peddled by such politicians whom he noted was envious of the present administration’s track record of achievements in the last six years.

    He maintained that Amassoma occupies a special place in his heart, which informed his administration’s decision not only to invest in the development of NDU but also siting of its single biggest investment, which is the N80 billion Bayelsa international airport project in the community.

    His words: “The NDU remains a state-owned university, completely funded by the government of Bayelsa State. And that is an institution where all Bayelsans have an equal stake.

    “With the investments we have made and continue to make, it is very clear that our plans for the NDU are good apart from the administration that took the step to set up the institution. We must commend them for their vision and foresight. There is no other government in Bayelsa State that has put in more resources, time and energy towards building a sustainable NDU than this government.

    “So I call on people to ignore the propaganda by failed political leaders in this state and desperate politicians who have nothing to show for their ambitions and for their plans; those who want to install their cronies.”

    In his remarks, Chief James Ibori expressed support to the reform agenda of the state governor and urged the people, especially Amassoma community, to rally round government to attract more development.

    In his presentation, the representative of the youth leadership of Amassoma, Mr. Simeon Ayogoi, condemned the action of the youths who attacked the police operatives drafted to maintain law and order in the community.

    He also took a swipe at the police for firing live bullets, describing the conduct as most unprofessional.

    The meeting, which observed a minute silence in honour of those who lost their lives in the crisis, had in attendance the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd), Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Konbowei Benson, Head of Service, Rev. Thomas Zidafamor, chairman of the state Traditional Rulers Council, King Alfred Diete Spiff.

    The Ebenanaowei of Ogboin Kingdom, King Oweipa Jones Ere, Amananaowei of Amassoma community, Major Graham Naingba (rtd), and other stakeholders represented the community.

    Earlier, the governor met with the NDU management team, including the Pro-Chancellor, Prof. Steve Azaiki, and the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo at the Government House, Yenagoa.

  • Three shot as protesters, security operatives clash in Bayelsa varsity

    Three persons were on Tuesday feared killed following a clash between security operatives and kinsmen of late former Governor Diepreye Alamiyeiseigha in Amassoma, Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa State.

    The clash, which reportedly started in the morning at the gate of the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), was said to have left many people injured.

    It was gathered that the university community was thrown into tension as sporadic gunshots and fired teargas canisters caused panic among the residents.

    The problem was said to have started when a detachment of armed security operatives, who arrived the community early in the morning, forcefully opened the gate of the troubled school.

    The school was shut down by aggrieved community women, whose names were removed from NDU’s payroll after they were indicted by the ongoing public sector reforms of Governor Seriake Dickson.

    The women, who insisted that their names must be returned to the payroll against civil service rules, were said to have hired the services of a welder to permanently seal the university’s gate.

    To find an amicable resolution to the issues, the government recently dispatched a team of negotiators led by the Chief of Staff, Talford Ongolo and the Commissioner for Education to meet with the protesters and the host community.

    It was gathered that among the resolutions of the parley were agreements that the university should review the fate of the sacked workers and suspend the protest to allow academic activities resume in the university.

    Despite the agreements, the host community continued with its protest refusing to unseal the gate of NDU.

    The protesters including women and youths were said to be angry when they woke up in the morning to discover that the school’s gate was forcefully opened and surrounded by scores of heavily armed security operatives.

    Read Also: Bayelsa govt decries decline in federal allocation to states

    They were said to have regrouped in their numbers and marched towards the gate to confront the security men.

    A source from the community who spoke in confidence said: “The security operatives including the police, soldiers and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were overwhelmed by the crowd rushing towards them.

    “They first retreated into the premises of the university and called for reinforcement. Later they started throwing teargas canisters at them and shooting at the protesters. Many were injured and about three persons were shot. They were feared dead but were immediately rushed to the hospital”.

    A lecturer from the university who also spoke in confidence said Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) were deployed to reinforce security at the troubled community.

    “Some persons have been shot by security operatives following protest by women and some youths on the forceful reopening of the NDU school gate”, he said.

    A student doctor at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH) said one of the shot victims was brought to the Accident and Emergency ward of the hospital.

    Some leaders from Southern Ijaw condemned the use of force to address the issues in the school and its host community.

    A former Acting Governor of the state, Chief Nestor Binabo, asked security operatives to apply caution insisting that the problem could only be resolved by sustained dialogue between the community and the government.

    Binabo urged security operatives to immediately leave Amassoma community to avoid further bloodshed in the area.

    He said: “This whole issue shouldn’t have been allow to escalate to this level. Security operatives including soldiers have no business in this matter.

    “It should have been resolved by appeal to conscience and dialogue between the school management and the host community.

    “It is condemnable that it has resulted in loss of lives and injuries to my kinsmen. Efforts should be made to withdraw the security operatives to avoid further bloodshed”.

    The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Don Awunah, was said to have led a team of senior police officers to the scene of the crisis.