Ex-militants clashes with Soldier during a protest for non-payment of Amnesty allowances

Protesting ex-militants on Thursday clashed with soldiers attached to the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Pulo Shield, along the Mbiama axis of the East-West Road.

The Nation's correspondent gathered that the ex-militants trooped to the road at about 7am to protest non-payment of their allowances by the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Office and Special Adviser on Niger Delta, Mr. Kingsley Kuku.

The protesters who were led by the Bayelsa State Third Phase Amnesty Chairman, Mr. Ebi John, were said to have blocked the road obstructing vehicular movement.

Travelers, motorists and pedestrians were stranded as the ex-militants chanted war songs, demanding Kuku to pay them without further delay.

Shortly after they barricaded the road, military patrol vans and two Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) driven by armed soldiers were said to have swooped on the youths.

The soldiers reportedly shot into the air many times to dislodge the youths from the road.

While the youths persisted in their protest, the armoured carriers went after them and in the process hit a mad woman who was caught up in the protest.

As the clash between the soldiers and the youths continued, some members of the Bayelsa State Working Committee of the All Progressive Congress (APC) led by the state Chairman of the party, Mr. Tiwe Oruminighe, rushed to the scene.

Oruminighe assembled the protesters and appealed to them to leave the road to avoid violence and bloodshed.

He said blocking the road was not a solution to their plight and promised that the leadership of APC in the state would seek to resolve the issues.

He said the new Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari is genuinely concerned about the problems of the Niger Delta region and should be given time to solve them.

#source: The Nation