allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Women Protest Against Militants (Page 1 of 2)

Hundreds of women in Bayelsa State embarked on a protest rally weekend against perceived engagement of youths and women in political violence in the Niger Delta states, calling on politicians to desist from the act and give peace a chance.

The women, under the aegis of the Bayelsa Women for Peace, were in their hundreds and led by the state chairperson of the National Council for Women Societies, Mrs. Abosede Apere.

Delivering their position before the wife of the acting governor, Mrs. Iyorozeti Seibarogu, the women said though election violence could not be totally ruled out in the region, the resultant effect is on women, who become victims of the arms and ammunition provided for the youths used during an election.

They said over the years, the youths hired by these politicians eventually returned to the creeks with guns and become dangerous specie to the riverine communities.

"I must say the rivers are no longer safe for the women due to the activities of these sea pirates. We are tired of political crises and we need peace in the state," Mrs. Apere stated.

Responding, Mrs Seibarugu appealed to politicians and youths to shun violence and reject all forms of indiscipline so as to enable the government achieve some progress.

She expressed dismay that women and children bear the brunt during violent situations, such as elections; praying that the forthcoming re-run governorship poll would be free and fair and devoid of violence.

"We the people of Bayelsa State deserve the best that the government can offer, and we can only achieve this if we live in peace and harmony. I implore all the women here to go back home and advise our children not to allow themselves to be used to cause trouble. Let us Bayelsans show to the rest of the nation that something good can come out of Bayelsa and Niger Delta as a whole, that it is possible to achieve peaceful campaigns during the forthcoming elections."

She argued that peace could be achieved if their husbands and children are not fighting each other, stressing that the women should not be tired of preaching peace from now on.

Meanwhile, the militants over the weekend launched an attack on an oil ship off the coast of the country and took two people hostage.

A military spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Sagir Musa, who confirmed the attack yesterday, said that the two hostages were the captain of the ship, a foreigner and a Nigerian, whose full identities were still not known at the time of the report .

"The captain, a white man whose identity is still unknown and the Nigerian engineer of the ship, were abducted by the gunmen," Musar told AFP.

"The attack took place 15 nautical miles northwest from the Bonny channel," he said, adding that the military have launched a manhunt for the attackers.

The incident, which occurred a day earlier, came after an attack on Shell oil wells and a flow station in southern Bayelsa State, leading to a cut in the company's output.

Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer exporting 2.14 million barrels of crude per day, has seen an upsurge in violent attacks on the oil and related industry in the past two years, a situation that has resulted into a hike in oil price at the international market.

Meanwhile, the wife of a notable Niger Delta militant, Mr Henry Okah, has accused the Federal Government of a fresh plot to exterminate the life of her husband who is currently facing a secret trial at the Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau State.

According to a three-page statement made available to LEADERSHIP in Port Harcourt, Mrs. Azuka Okah, whose husband is being charged to court on ground of cultism and treasonable felony, alleged that during her recent visit to her husband, the suspect disclosed that he has narrowly escaped poison on three occasions.

She said: "On my first visit to the venue of the trial at the Federal High Court, Jos, I was allowed to see and meet my husband for only ten minutes since he was illegally extradited to Nigeria from Angola. While speaking with him I was pointedly sandwiched by three SSS men listening to all our discussions.

"My husband informed me that the SSS men assured him that he would be kept in the military underground cell in the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) for one year without anyone knowing he was brought into the country. The SSS has refused/failed to obey the court order that my husband be kept in the custody of the civilian SSS and be accessible to his lawyers and family.

"That for that 10 minutes, my husband informed me that he is kept in a military formation up northern Nigeria in an underground cell . The said underground cell has searchlights on him 24 hours hence he does not know day or night.

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