Bayelsa women, soldiers in violent clash over arrest of youths

Fresh violence erupted in Biseni Kingdom in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State after the arrest of four youths over allegations of vandalism and other crimes.

The protesters, mainly women, clashed with security personnel, resulting in a gas pipeline being vandalised and a house belonging to a community leader being set ablaze, and several people were injured.

Videos obtained by PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday showed elderly women blocking the only access road into the oil-producing community while singing solidarity songs before armed security personnel moved in to clear the blockade.

In one of the videos reviewed by this newspaper, a uniformed military officer appeared to strike a woman with a stick as security operatives dismantled the road blockade. Another piece of footage showed trucks, escorted by armed personnel, driving through the crowd after the protesters’ chairs, used to barricade the road, were removed or destroyed.

PREMIUM TIMES also reviewed videos showing elderly women receiving treatment at a hospital after the confrontation. Community sources said at least four people sustained injuries, with one victim initially taken to a cottage hospital in the area before being referred elsewhere for specialist care.

Another video seen by PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday evening showed flames rising from what residents identified as a vandalised gas pipeline after the protest had turned violent. The newspaper could not independently verify the extent of damage to the facility.

The violence marks an escalation of a dispute over the management of projects executed under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA)-mandated Host Community Development Trust (HCDT).

Dispute over community projects

The crisis began after the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Renaissance Cluster of the Host Community Development Trust in Biseni, Ebibulo Amaoru, together with some community leaders, petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, accusing some community youths of vandalism, arson, cultism, attempted murder and other offences.

Police subsequently arrested four youths. Three were remanded at the Okaka Correctional Centre, while another suspect was detained in Rivers State, according to community leaders.

Their arrest angered residents, especially women, who blocked the only road into Biseni, preventing access to facilities operated by Oando Energy Resources and Renaissance Africa Energy Company.

Residents told PREMIUM TIMES that the arrested youths had merely demanded accountability over HCDT projects, particularly the quality of road construction and other infrastructure.

They alleged that several projects executed under the trust were substandard and that repeated complaints to community leaders yielded no results.

Many residents also alleged that traditional leaders had failed to demand transparency in the management of community development funds and had instead sided with the BOT chairman against youths seeking accountability.

PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify those allegations.

‘They were fighting for everybody’

A community chief, Justus Bekesu, who previously served as village head in the kingdom’s rotational leadership system, disputed allegations that the youths were violent or were involved in any of the allegations used to remand them at the correctional centre.

He said the leadership of the youths, under the umbrella of Biseni Development Group, had questioned contractors over what they described as poorly executed projects funded by the HCDT.

According to him, the group temporarily blocked the poorly executed road weeks earlier but removed the barricade after community leaders promised to address their concerns.

Mr Bekesu said the youths later honoured a police invitation only to be detained, arraigned and remanded. “The women were shocked,” he said.

“They said these boys were fighting for the benefit of everybody. If the road is repaired, everybody coming into or leaving Biseni will benefit.”

He alleged that military personnel deployed on Sunday assaulted women protesting the arrests.

“They beat women with rifles and sticks. Some women were pushed to the ground. Oando trucks were escorted through the protesters. Many women were injured and hospitalised,” he said.

Mr Bekesu said the subsequent vandalisation of a gas pipeline and the burning of the BOT chairman’s house occurred after news of the assault on mothers and women of the community spread among some youths.

PREMIUM TIMES could not independently establish who carried out the attacks.

IYC alleges intimidation

The Secretary of the Ijaw Youth Council in Biseni Kingdom, Aye Preye, echoed the allegations.

He accused the BOT chairman of intimidating youths who questioned the lack of transparency and substandard implementation of projects executed under the HCDT.

According to him, the community, despite hosting numerous oil facilities, has suffered from poor infrastructure for years.

“We have a very bad road, and we have not had electricity for over 12 years,” he said.

He alleged that the women who protested since Saturday and stayed through Saturday night until Sunday, when the alleged assault by the military took place, only demanded the release of the arrested youths before reopening the road.

According to him, soldiers later arrived in several vehicles and assaulted the protesters. “Some of our mothers are in critical condition. Some have been diagnosed with internal bleeding,” he alleged.

BOT chairman rejects allegations

Mr Amaoru rejected allegations that the arrests were retaliation against critics.

He said members of the group had no recognised status within the community’s governance structure and had repeatedly disrupted projects approved under the HCDT.

According to him, community chiefs had warned the group to stop interfering with contractors, but they allegedly continued to vandalise project sites, threaten community leaders and attack his residence.

“They went to different project sites to stop contractors from working,” he said.

“They threatened chiefs, including myself. They almost kidnapped me in Port Harcourt if not that I move with security.”

He maintained that contractors and Renaissance engineers, not the protesting youths, were responsible for assessing project quality.

When PREMIUM TIMES asked if he had shared the HCDT community development plan with the community, including the cost for each project, he said, “The documents are made available to the Kingdom’s ruling council and the advisory committee, not them. These are the bodies that are supposed to know the contents of any contract. Those rightful persons are aware of it.”

However, the Nigerian Upstream Host Community Development Regulations 2022 contradict the BOT chairman’s claim; the regulations mandate that the settlor and the leadership of trusts consult all groups of people on projects.

PREMIUM TIMES recently reported that HCDTs in neighbouring Rivers State were struggling with transparency and inclusion.

Mr Amaoru also denied mobilising military personnel against the protesters.

“I don’t have the power to mobilise soldiers. The companies did that because they needed access to their facilities,” he said.

Mr Amaoru said his house had been burned while oil facilities and access routes had also been vandalised.

Police defend arrests

The spokesperson for Zone 16 Police Command, Gunn Ewhoborwo, said the arrests followed a petition from community elders and chiefs alleging attempted murder, malicious damage, extortion, kidnapping, cultism and repeated attacks by the suspects.

He said police investigators initially encountered hostility while attempting to serve invitations on members of the group.

According to him, the suspects were remanded by a court to allow investigators to conclude their inquiries.

“The court granted 10 days for their remand pending investigation,” he said.

Mr Ewhoborwo also rejected claims that the arrests stemmed from complaints over poor-quality community projects.

He said there were lawful channels for addressing grievances rather than allegedly attacking people and vandalising infrastructure.

Military denies attacking protesters

The spokesperson for the Nigerian Army, 16 Brigade, Solomon Hallet, denied allegations that soldiers attacked peaceful protesters.

“Our men were deployed there. The people were protesting peacefully, and nobody touched them,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.

He said violence erupted only after the situation escalated.

“The people were stoning vehicles and our men. Our men were only trying to calm the situation,” he said.

When informed that videos reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES appeared to show military personnel confronting and assaulting women after trucks breached the blockade, Mr Hallet maintained that soldiers did not initiate the violence.

READ ALSO:Bayelsa State Monthly Wage Bill Hits ₦13 Billion: Government details expenditure

“Our men are also humans. It is like beating someone and telling the person not to cry. Will someone keep beating you and tell you not to cry, and you stand there without any form of resistance?”

He said the protest was rooted in disagreements between community members and companies operating in the area over development issues.

Calls for intervention

Before Sunday’s confrontation, women from Biseni Kingdom had staged another peaceful protest, demanding the immediate release of the detained youths, rehabilitation of the failed access road and greater accountability in the execution of community development projects.

They also asked the Bayelsa State Government, the federal government, Oando Energy Resources, and Renaissance Africa Energy Company to intervene urgently before the situation deteriorates further.

As of Sunday night, tension remained high in the community, with residents expressing fears that the crisis could escalate if the underlying grievances were not addressed.