At least two persons were confirmed dead and several others wounded on Tuesday in a clash between youths and soldiers in Akabuka Community in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. Also, about 16 Hilux vans and some pipeline-laying equipment that belong to an oil servicing company were burnt by the protesting youths of the community who also snatched a soldier’s gun which was later recovered.
It was gathered that crisis started when some members of the Egi Oil and Gas Producing Families in the area embarked on a peaceful protest of alleged non-implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by TotalElf Oil Company.
Some youths in Akabuka, who had been grumbling over alleged failure of Saipen, a consulting firm to TotalELF, to employ them, were said to have joined the protest and vandalized vehicles and equipment belonging to the company.
One of the youths was said to have died and many others wounded during the protest.
The death of one of their colleagues further infuriated the youths who accosted the security men stationed within the company premises and snatched the gun of one of the soldiers.
Consequently, the soldiers pursued the youths into the community and eventually recovered the gun during which one of them was seriously wounded and later died.
Sources stated that three days earlier, employees of another company in the area, Ponticeli Nigeria Limited, had protested the death of one of their colleagues who was asthmatic.
The grouse of the workers was that the company’s ambulance was not readily available to take the deceased to the hospital when he slumped.
Meanwhile, landlords in the area were also said to be ‘warming up for a showdown’ with Total over the oil company’s failure to pay them compensation for oil and gas pipelines that run through some communities in Egi land.
When contacted, police spokesman in the state, Mr. Akin Fakorede (SP) confirmed the death of two persons and destruction of equipment during the clash.
He told Daily Sun that investigation of the incident was in progress.
source:sun
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