More than 400 ex-militants yesterday took to the streets of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, to protest against the Federal Government's new deal in the third phase of the amnesty program.
The protesting ex-militants showed something akin to their nature when they were in the creeks, as they smashed the windscreens of 10 cars, burnt one, and looted shops along the Otiotio Road and Mbiama-Yenagoa Road in the Yenezuegene area of the state capital.
An unidentified hawker was reportedly matcheted in the back by one of the protesters. Business activities were of course grounded and people ran for their lives within the three hours that the chaos lasted.
What was their grouse, you may ask? Some of them said they were dissatisfied with the proposed slots to be allocated to them under the new amnesty deal.
Some protesters told SaharaReporters that trouble began to brew when the Inter-Agency Taskforce headed by Air Vice Marshall Gbum told the ex-militants that they would be entitled to one amnesty training slot for every 15 guns handed over by a militant camp. The task force is currently on a verification exercise of ex-militants in the state.
Last year, President Goodluck Jonathan had approved 3,642 ex-militants for training under the new amnesty program.
It took the intervention of operatives of the Joint Taskforce (JTF), anti-riot policemen, officials of the State Security Service and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps to bring the tense situation under control.
The militants. . . opps, sorry. . . I mean EX-militants (who showed an unsurprising level of militancy in their recent actions) want the federal Government to abide by the agreement reached between them and the late President Umaru Yar'Adua, saying that the proposed 15 guns to one slot won't be acceptable to them.
As an added note, they of course expressed the prospect of more mayhem if the issue is not satisfactorily resolved.
God save us. . .
Story Source: Saharareporters
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