The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kaiama

  • Dokubo-must-go protest rocks Bayelsa

    Angry youths have asked Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Prof. Charles Dokubo, to resign his appointment following the recent looting of the Boro Town Amnesty Training complex in Kaiama, Bayelsa State.

    The placard-carrying youths appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to force Dokubo to step aside to allow an independent and unbiased investigation into the five-day looting.

    The aggrieved youths insisted that PAP officials must be probed for the “stage-managed theft to conceal fraud and non-existing contracts in the amnesty office”.

    Some of their placards read “Charles Dokuboh must be probed for the Kaiama amnesty facility looting”; “President Buhari, investigate Dokuboh for fraud”; “Fake contracts, all amnesty directors must go”; “There will be no safe haven for the corrupt”.

    Kingsley John, who led the protest under the auspices of Concerned Niger Deltans for Sustainable Development (CNDSD), wondered how a theft could happen for five days without any efforts to stop it.

    John, who led the protesters to the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Yenagoa, accused Dokuboh of mocking Buhari’s anti-corruption war.

    He said: “The looting lasted for five days without security men to stop the hoodlums. On February 14, Prof. Dokubo drove along the East-West Road and saw the looting. Sources said stakeholders who saw him pleaded with him to call for security but he drove away.

    “Dokubo later called Esther Boro to open the facility on his behalf. While the looting was going on at one end, Madam Esther and a few elders were opening the facility at another end in the same complex same day.

    “The Head of the Training Centre reported the theft to the police, three days after the incident and Dokubo was angry with him for reporting, and instructed him to withdraw his statement and the police report.

    “On February 15, the head of the centre wrote to the police in Bayelsa state to withdraw his statement and the report he had already filed.

    “Dokubo waited for almost one month after the looting before setting up a committee to investigate it. However, the people of Kaiama and Niger Deltans know the truth.”

    But the Amnesty Office, through its spokesman, Murphy Ganagana, dismissed the protest, saying it was stage-managed by attention-seekers. Ganagana, who described the allegations as baseless, reiterated that immediately the incident happened, Prof. Dokubo took actions to stop it.

    A statement by Ganagana reads: “These allegations are false, preposterous and a calculated attempt to smear Prof. Dokubo’s reputation. As a decent and incorruptible scholar of international repute, he has given hope to the Niger Delta people through fresh initiatives that would reposition the Amnesty Programme to its original mandate.

    “It is on record that the invasion and looting of the Kaiama training facility happened in the presence of security personnel, including policemen and soldiers deployed in the centre, but they were overwhelmed by the numerical strength of the thieves.

    “The incident was reported at the Divisional Police Headquarters at Kaiama, and later at the Bayelsa State police command headquarters in Yenagoa. The police launched intensive investigation and have some suspects in custody. None of the suspects has linked any official of the Amnesty Office to the crime.

    “We urge enemies of the Niger Delta, particularly ambitious politicians eyeing Prof. Dokubo’s office, to desist from smear campaigns and other ignoble acts capable of portraying the Niger Delta people in bad light. Sponsoring ill-motivated protests aimed at causing mischief and splashing muddy water on Dokubo will do no one any good…”

  • I know nothing about the stealing of Amnesty equipment- Dokubo

    …sets up investigative panel

     

    The Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Charles Dokubo has stated that he knows nothing about the stealing of the equipment from the just-commissioned Vocational Training Center in Kaiama, Bayelsa State and has also set up an investigative panel to look into the pilferage.

    The Coordinator shut down rumours of his involvement in the looting during the launch of the Special Investigative Panel to probe the invasion and looting of the training center which took place in Abuja on Monday.

    The members of the panel include Brig-Gen. Sotunde Sangonuga, who is the Chairman of the panel, Mr. Dodoye Arikpo (DSS), Barr. Paddy Ogon, Mrs. Cynthia Ogbe, Mr. Reuben Wilson, and Mr. Unyime Eyo.

    According to Dokubo, he had traveled to his home state of Rivers to participate in the Presidential elections and was not present during the incident.

    “On the evening of Wednesday, 13th February 2019, news filtered into me that certain persons had invaded this same Vocational Training Center in Kaiama and had, in fact, overwhelmed the security men guarding it.

    “The soldiers and other security forces deployed to quell the situation were under strict instruction not to do anything to escalate the tensed pre-election situation in the region.

    “It is not entirely true that the soldiers and other security agencies sent to the place during the incident did nothing to stop the orgy of looting.”

    Dokubo charged the Special Investigative Panel to ‘truly appraise the roles played by the military and other security agencies in Kaiama on that day’ and ensured his office’s full support and cooperation.

    “We shall provide whatever this panel needs to do its job thoroughly without any form of hindrance,” he stated.

    “All summons by this panel must be obeyed by all persons in this office and any subpoenaed document must be supplied.”

    “The Special Investigative Panel has seven working days to complete its investigations and submit its report.”

    Responding to the Coordinator, the Chairman of the Panel, Brig-Gen. Sangonuga disclosed that the panel has started working before the inauguration of the President.

    “We promise a very detailed report that will give insight to what actually happened,” he assured.

    “We are not new to the Amnesty Programme and we are also touched by what happened.”

  • Two die, others injured as Bayelsa community loots amnesty complex

    At least one person was killed and many others injured at the weekend when community members broke into an office complex belonging to the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) in Kaiama, Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

    The shocking invasion and raid were reportedly carried out by residents of Orubiri, a host community of the amnesty yard located in Boro Town, which was named after the late Ijaw hero, Isaac Adaka Boro.

    One of the invaders said to have asthmatic condition was reportedly choked to death in one of the warehouses while a baby brought into the complex by a woman was said to have died in the ensuing stampede.

    The Amnesty Office built the expansive yard comprising many blocks of storey buildings to act as a liaison office for coordination of amnesty issues in the Niger Delta region, including storage and distribution of starter packs to beneficiaries.

    But investigations revealed members of the host community, numbering over 1,000, invaded the complex, broke into all the offices and looted equipment and starter packs worth billions of naira.

    The invaders were said to have overpowered a few army operatives stationed at the entrance, pushed down the gate and engaged in free-for-all stealing of items.

    Efforts of the security operatives to stop them by shooting in the air were said to have proved abortive because of the high number of the invaders.

    It was gathered that youths and women participated in the looting and ensured that equipment bought for persons trained for different skills was carted away.

    The marauders were said to have stolen everything including installed air-conditioners, furniture and fittings and attempted to remove electric wires.

    An employee of the amnesty office, who spoke in confidence, said the looting started early Tuesday morning last week adding that the equipment carted away was meant for beneficiaries from impacted communities in other states.

    He said the Coordinator of PAP, Prof. Charles Dokubo, inaugurated the distribution of the items in Port Harcourt, Rivers State; Warri, Delta State and Orubiri, the host community in Bayelsa.

    He said following the inauguration, about 500 beneficiaries of the host communities got their items without crisis.

    “But we were surprised that the next day youths and women from the same host communities numbering over 1000 assembled at the entrance of the complex and demanded their share of the items.

    “We explained to them that the items were meant for impacted communities in various states. They didn’t listen. They rather insisted that the items must be given to them.

    “Most of them started calling people from other communities and before we knew it, the entrance was filled up. The person in charge of the place tried to call for security reinforcement.

    “Even when they came, there was nothing the security operatives could do. The people pulled down the gate and started looting the items in the warehouses. They engaged in the looting overnight till the next morning,” he said.

    The source added that Dokubo visited the place and expressed anger at the destruction of the complex, wondering why the host community would engage in damaging properties under their care.

    The source said: “When the coordinator left, the people still besieged the complex. It was worse that night.

    “Some of us were forced to flee because our lives were under threat. Some of the employees who could not escape were attacked.

    “The people stole all the properties of our employees and even removed trousers from their waists. They broke into the administrative blocks and removed all the items there.

    “They removed air-conditioners including toilet seaters. They are still looting. They are even trying to steal cables in the ground”.

    The source said the office had video recordings of the invasion describing the area as security risk and called on law enforcement agencies to stop what he described as madness.

    He added that an official report of the incident had been sent to the amnesty office in Abuja saying the office would take a final decision on the matter.

  • Suspected gunmen kill four in Kwara

    Suspected gunmen kill four in Kwara

    Suspected gunmen have allegedly killed four vigilance group members in some Kaiama, Kiana local government area of Kwara state.

    The gunmen who attacked the villages also injured several others.

    But the state police command confirmed the death of a member of the local vigilante group.

    It added that three others were missing.

    The Chairman of the council, Alhaji Abdullahi Abubakar said that the gunmen mounted a camp in the National Park to move from one community to another to terrorize the residents.

    The affected villages, he said, were Tunga Maje, Nukku and Woro.

    The National Park covers about 50 kilometre of land between Kaiama local council in Kwara and Borgu local government area of Niger state.

    Abubakar added that the hoodlums would enter the villages robbing the residents of their belongings particularly foodstuff, cows and goats and then return to the camp to survive on it.

    The council chair added the complaints of the attacks made the council to deploy its members of the local vigilante to place surveillance on the place.
    “Unfortunately, when the vigilante approached them in their camp, they exchanged fire to the extent that they killed one of the vigilante men and three others are missing.

    “We don’t know their whereabouts and for now and nobody can go into the bush and start searching for the dead body”, he said.

    The council boss stated that the armed hoodlums were fond of blocking the roads at night to dispossess people of their money.

    “One of our vigilante men is confirmed dead. While three others are missing, several other vigilante men were injured,” said the council chief.

    He, however, noted that the state government has taken charge and that about 50 soldiers have been deployed from the 222 battalion to comb the bush.

    Spokesperson of the Kwara state police command Ajayi Okasanmi confirmed the incident.

    He said that the state command had deployed mobile police men into the area and the Commissioner of Police had ordered an investigation into the issue.

  • SS3 student wins N1m essay writing competition in Bayelsa

    A 16-year-old SS3 student of Ijaw National Academy, Kaiama, Franklin Martin, yesterday won a one million Naira cash prize for essay contest organised for Senior Secondary Schools in Bayelsa.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the competition, organised by an NGO, Robert Sunday Iworiso (RSI) Foundation, was aimed at encouraging creative writing amongst the youth in the state.

    The topic for the competition was captioned “Education as imperative for National Development for global relevance.”

    Martin, who spoke at the grand finale in Kaiama, Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state, beat other 10 best writers selected from both public and private schools for the final.

    NAN reports that the second place went to Tamara Ayameiya of Biedomo Premier School, Yenagoa with a N250,000 while the third place went to Blessing Tari of Tari-pet International School, Yenagoa who received N150,000.

    The winner said the feat would propel him to do more in attaining his dreams and potentials.

    “I am very thrilled and thankful to God and the organizer for this huge opportunity and for taking a huge financial burden off my parents, especially at this trying time.

    “I believe the money will be judiciously used, especially on my education as I move on to the next levels and to the university,” he said.

    Mr John Iworiso, Director of the Foundation, said the competition was to discover and nurture gifted students in the state.

    “The competition is one of the several ways through which we hope to discover untapped talents from the creeks and farmlands of Bayelsa to the rest of the world.

    “We have engaged and inspired their minds as change agents and the true leaders of tomorrow for the state and Nigeria.

    “It is important to state that, with all that has befallen us as a people; education remains the key to the survival and liberation to the Niger-Delta region.

    “I urge you to continue to learn how to write as we make plans to make it an annual event for SSS 3 students,” he said.

    Mr Michael Afenfia, Chairman of the Organizing Committee praised the students for their outstanding performance.

    “Every student who sent in an entry is a winner. It shows that he or she is confident about his or her writing skill.

    “For those that did not win, I will say do not be discouraged. Take it as a challenge to perfect your writing and enter for the competition again in the next edition,” Afenfia said.

    Mr Bina Illagha, Bayelsa Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), urged students across the state to tap and key into the opportunity to build their career.

    Illagha also called on students to continue to improve their habit of reading and writing.