How Ijaw Women, IYC Leaders Dared Wike, Blocked Roads Before Police Scattered Them With Canisters
Edith CHUKU
Aggrieved women and youths of Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, on Saturday destroyed billboards carrying pictures of the FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, following the civic reception organized in his honour.
They also staged a protest, blocking the roads leading to Abalama Secondary School field, venue of the event, intending to prevent Wike from accessing the area.
With woods, rod, nails, sticks and palm fronds, the angry women and youths who were wearing blacks blocked the road, displaying placards with inscriptions such as, “he who sees himself as God, can only be God to himself and those who take him for God, not the Kalabari Ijaw” “The Kalabari say you are not welcomed” “Ijaw people rise up and take your rightful place” “Ijaw stand for peace.”
They are angry with the FCT Minister for abusing and referring to the Ijaw people as minority.
The women demanded for peace in their land and insisted that they are not minority, as they urged the FCT Minister not to enter their land.
The Abalama Secondary School field where the event organized by George Kelly to honour Wike was holding, was supposed to be the venue of the Ijaw Youth Council meeting.
In order to disperse the aggrieved protesting women and IYC youths, security personnel used tear gas to scatter them.
Speaking in a viral video, the IYC Secretary General, Mr Maobuye Nangi, accused security personnel believed to be working for Wike, and Kelly of brutalizing protesting women and members of the IYC.
The victims accused Wike and Kelly security of shooting, tear gasing and chasing them, which they said caused alot of them to have various degree of injury.
Maobuye narrated that, “Wike’s soldiers, George Kelly’s soldiers, they have been shooting at us, they’ve chased us away. They said we can’t have our meeting while they are having their own meeting.
“They’ve been shooting at us, injured alot of women, tear gasing us. We are only here as Kalabari people, as Ijaw people to have IYC congress nothing more. They chose to also fix their meeting in our same venue, we said okay, use your part, let’s use our part, they brought their police and Nigeria Army, they are shooting at us, they should kill us.”
He added that, “we want the world to know what is happening. Look at what they’ve done to me, look at my eyes, they are chasing us, our people, see what they are doing to us, you can imagine Wike’s people, they came here and said we will not have our meeting in Abalama.”
