Kenechukwu Obiajuru,Yenagoa
About five persons were injured and property destroyed on Monday as suspected thugs attacked peaceful protesters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.
The protest that started peacefully at the entrance of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Building turned violent when some suspected hoodlums suddenly attacked the protesters, using dangerous weapons.
The protest, according to the Sagbama local government coordinator of the Host Communities Oil and Gas (HOSCOM), Safa Praise Perekebina, to express the people’s displeasure over NCDMB non-implementation of training for youths of the oil and gas communities.
Prior to the disruption of the protest, the protesters filed out in their numbers, carrying placards with inscriptions like “we will embark on our trainings as agreed today; The injustice meted on oil and gas host communities must end, enough is enough, 1000 youths must be trained.”
The protest got swallowed up by confusion, with the attacker wielding dangerous weapons with which they inflicted injuries on the protesters and destroyed properties. It took the intervention of security operatives attached to NCDMB to contain the hoodlums.
Perekebina expressed dismay over the attack, wondering how the hoodlums penetrated the rally despite the presence of security personnel.
According to him, “some hoodlums came wanting to hijack the whole process. That left to the clash between our people and them.
“We were peaceful protesters. We were just at the gate with our canopies; and even the military and police personnel were there with us before the hoodlums came.
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