 |
| Protester |
Assembly following the alleged killing of three members of the community by Naval officers in the area.
The aggrieved residents, including youths and the aged, pleaded with the state government to immediately intervene and ensure the release of the shot victims, whose current status are not known.
According to the residents, the three victims were shot by some drunk naval officers and taken to the hospital but none of the families of the residents have been able to contact the victims since then.
The protesters who were made up of community youths and the elderly complained bitterly that life had been hellish since the naval men came to their community and appealed to the state government for the withdrawal of the Navy men.
Chairman of Majidun Community, Oloyede Egbodofo, who led the protest, urged the government to come to their rescue.
He told a team of lawmakers led by Bisi Yusuf, that the community had been held captive and are now being terrorised by armed forces since the incident occurred last Monday.
According to him, the officers came to the their community on 5 October, 2014 in search of oil thieves and vandals of the pipeline that passed through the community.
The officers then began to displace people from their homes and deny shop-owners and businesses like ferry operators, farmers, fishermen and sand dredgers from carry out their operations.
“They began to break into shops and people’s homes with gun and robbing them.”
Egbodofo added that last Monday one of the Naval officers, in commemoration of his birthday, “shot three of our brothers at their place of work in Majidun Tipper Garage.”
While the Naval command claimed that the officer was unknown, the entire community have been unable to reach the victims, he told the lawmakers.
He said the community tried to protest to the Naval base in Majidun, but they were violently confronted by officers of the Nigerian Navy.
He told the lawmakers: “at about 10am on 26 August, 2015, these Naval men paraded the community with their armoured tank to intimidate the community with the impression that some gangs are coming to attack them.
“Your Excellency Sir, Majidun is not a violent community whereby we can be terrorized and be intimidate by the military. Please save our soul.”
A youth leader among the protesters, Ahmed Aboriota, further explained that there were conflicting reports on the status of the three victims.
He said while some believe they are dead, others think that they are recuperating in a hospital.
He said the families of the victims were eager to see them and appealed for assistance in this regard.
The community, he said, had been in perpetual fear, even as several people had been displaced as a result of the incident.
“Our father’s and mothers now squat in religious houses and our entire economy paralysed.
“We want the government to come to our aide,” he said.
Addressing the protesters, Yusuf, who commended them for their peaceful walk, assured that the House would do everything within its power to address the issue and restore peace in the area.
Source: PM News
No comments:
Post a Comment