Angry youths set houses of chairman, directors ablaze over N14.6billion

Hundreds of irate youths from seven host communities in Eleme, in Elelme local Government Area, in Rivers State, have burnt down the houses of the Chairman of Elano Investment Limited, Chief Gomba Okanje, his sprawling shopping mall, as well as the houses of two other directors, including the home of a sympathizer to the cause of the investment company.
 
The youths were protesting against the 7.5% equity share allocated to the community by the Bureau of Public Privatisation, BPP, through the Public Private Partnership, PPP, which was being managed by Elano Investment Limited.
 
The youths who accused Elano Investment Limited of fraudulent management of their collective resources wanted Indorama Elelme Petrochemicals to disengage Elano Investment Limited from managing the 7.5% equity share belonging to the seven host communities.  

The Chairman, Chief Okanje, told journalists that the arsonists burnt his house, his shopping plaza as well as the houses of some directors of the investment company.
 
“Unfortunately, yesterday, I woke up to discover that the on-going protest against the management of the equity shares belonging to the seven host communities have taken different dimension.

My house was burnt. My shopping plaza was burnt. The houses of my directors, too, were burnt. A house belonging to a sympathizer of Elano from Aleto was also burnt.”
 
He regretted: ‘They are even threatening that the burning spree will continue unless we give up our management of the 7.5% equity shares belonging to the seven host communities.

They want us to run away from our homes and communities so that they will nominate new managers of the 7.5% equity shares. They do not have houses that we will burn and we will not encourage anyone to burn houses for any reason.
 
“We are appealing to the police and the security agencies to fish out these criminal elements and perpetrators of these acts of arson and bring them to book.

We have already reported the matter to all the security agencies to intervene and bring the situation under control. We understand they are stockpiling arms and ammunition.”
 
The Spokesman of the Rivers State Police Command, DSP, Nnamdi Omoni, who confirmed the incident disclosed that arrests have been made.

“Some of the perpetrators of these acts have been arrested and are cooling their heels at the State CID. They are helping the Police with on-going investigation, while normalcy has been restored in the area.
 
Three weeks ago, youths from the seven communities of Eleme blocked activities at the Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals protesting the failure of Elano Investments to equitably share the 7.5 equity shares paid to the company by Indorama for them.

Elano Investments is the firm appointed by the communities to handle the equity shares for the communities.