Grazing land: Niger Delta youths flay protest by Ankio Briggs
The Niger Delta Youth Coalition for Peace and Progress (NDYCPP) on Thursday said the aborted protest led by Ms Annkio Briggs, against allocation of grazing land was ill advised.
The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that Briggs had led a protest on Tuesday against the donation of 1,200 hectares of land to cattle rearers for grazing purposes by the Bayelsa Government.
The protesters were dispersed at the Tombia area of Yenagoa by youths, who stormed the area in several buses injuring the protesters in the process.
Reacting to the development, the coalition in a statement signed by Messrs Jude Tiedor and Henry Nabena, Acting Coordinator and Acting Secretary, respectively, noted that the protest did not follow laid down procedure.
“Our attention was drawn to the incident that occurred on the 14th February, 2017 at the Tombia Junction, Yenegoa Bayelsa.
“Our respected sister and Amazon, Lady Ann Kio Briggs, had a scuffle with some persons, who felt her protest on that faithful day was naive, distractive and orchestrated to over-heat the polity.
“This foiled protest was totally unnecessary and unacceptable by the majority of the Ijaws.
“While we consider the situation unfortunate, especially as it affects a woman, who has been involved in the Niger Delta struggle for many years, we are at the same time forced to ask this very pertinent question.
“Was the protest necessary? In our thinking, Ann Kio Briggs and her group did not follow due process in staging the planned protest in Yenagoa.
“Our investigations revealed that the police and other security agencies in the state knew nothing about the planned protest.
“Meanwhile, the protest could have been hijacked by hoodlums to cause trouble,” the statement read in part.
The coalition noted that some Niger Delta youth leaders had prevailed on Briggs to shelve the action, but she rebuffed the entreaties.
The coalition further stated that the government of Bayelsa’s explanation that the move to restrict the cattle business was a security measure to avert clashes between farmers and herdsmen devoid of politics.
However, they noted that Briggs may have acted from a misinformed perspective.
Reacting to the attack by rival youths, Briggs, who said she lost her phone in the course of the melee, described the action of the youths as “unacceptable”.
“All what we are saying is no to Ijaw land being ceded to Fulani people under any circumstance.
“At the rally, thugs invaded the Tombia round about and started fomenting trouble, one particular boy collected my Samsung phone, my Identity Card, my necklace and disappeared from the location.
“I told the police DPO that this rally was not against the Governor of Bayelsa, but against the decision he has made.
“It is unbelievable. I am an Ijaw person, I have fought for the Ijaw nation for as long as I can remember.
“I have been called a bigot because of my stand on Ijaw issues and if today, I can come to Bayelsa and some Bayelsa children, some of whom am old enough to be their mother can assault me, that is unfortunate.
“So, if today, they have appointments and positions and think that people like me no longer have the right to speak on Ijaw matters, that is a sad day for them and not for Ijaw nation,” Briggs said.
