Tuesday 7 August 2012

Ex-militans threaten to burn Warri NUJ office

Hundreds of ex-militants on
Tuesday invaded the Secretariat
of the Nigerian Union Journalists,
in 3rd Marine Gate, Warri, Delta
State, threatening to burn down
the building.
The ex-militants, who
brandished, various weapons
came with kegs of petroleum,
because, according to them,
reporters were not on the
ground to take interviews over
their unpaid monthly stipend.
Among the protesters were 17
ladies who said they were
demonstrating in solidarity with
their husbands who were
trained in the phase two
Amnesty Programme.
They threatened to lynch the
Chairman of the Correspondent
Chapel, Michael Ikeogwu, but for
the quick intervention of soldiers
and policemen who arrested a
handful of them.
The Warri Galaxy Television
correspondent, Dele Fasan, who
tried to calm the youths, was
manhandled for refusing to
record the protest.
The ex-militants who gave
journalists 30 minutes to
mobilise to interview them,
started smashing glass doors
when it was obvious that most
reporters had fled.
Gbenga Ahmed, a reporter with
Independent Television, Benin,
also had his car vandalised and
was forced to record the protest.
The incident caused gridlock on
the 1st and 3rd Marine Gate
roads for hours before a team of
soldiers of the Joint Task Force
came to the rescue.
It took the efforts of the
Commanding Officer of the 3rd
Battalion, Nigerian Army, Effurun,
near Warri, Lt.Col Ifeanyi Otu,
who sent his men following a
distress call from the NUJ
leadership to curtail the protest.
Paul Oniyan, and Billy Onaro, who
led the protest, were taken away
by the soldiers while several of
the youths scaled the fence.
A protest letter by the ex-
militants had earlier demanded
the removal of Kingsley Kuku, the
Presidential Adviser on Niger
Delta for what they called his
“incompetence.”
It was learnt that the same group
had earlier been stopped by
security forces while on their
way to Abuja for a protest.

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