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| Some of the youths looting amnesty centre |
The Nigerian police have arrested nine suspects in connection with the looting and vandalism of a vocational training centre located at Biro in the Kaima, Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Built and equipped by the Presidential Amnesty Programme, the centre is designed to train unskilled repentant militants, providing them a wide range of training programmes such as plumbing, catering, fashion designing and building technology in order to transform them into skilled and employable workforce.
The looting of the office was said to have been carried out between February 14 and 16 by the natives of the community as well as those from the neighbouring towns and villages.
It was also alleged that the security personnel sent to the area to bring the situation under control joined in the plundering.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the Bayelsa State Police Command, Asinim Butswat, confirmed the arrest of the nine persons.
He said the police were investigating the incident, giving the names of five appended suspects as Bright Aloame, Boleigha Preye, Ibitel Alamieyeseigha, Keith Inekiye and Mabel Cousider.
“The first five persons were arrested by the operatives of the criminal department of the Bayelsa State Police Command immediately after the incident was reported. With more intelligent findings, the other four persons, whose names I cannot ascertain now, were arrested by the Area Command in the local government. I will furnish you with their names as soon as I get them,” Butswat said.
The roof of the building was removed along with the beddings and all plumbing materials in the 60-bed facility.
The entrepreneurship starter packs, welding machines, fridges, tailoring/fashion designing facilities and generators were some of the items reportedly carted away, which many described as daylight robbery.
Other items vandalised or looted at the centre are the state-of-art training equipment for plumbing, catering, fashion designing, building and interlocking stones making, shoe/leather work, carpentry and joinery.
The Chairman, Bayelsa State chapter of the Civil Liberty Organisation, Nengi James, described the incident as unacceptable.
He called for a thorough investigation of the centre’s officials, the security agencies charged with keeping the place safe and those who participated in the looting.
He added, “The looting of the amnesty training centre and the facilities installed there, such as the starter packs for trainees, should be seriously condemned.
“I also condemn the action of the security agencies who were deployed to protect those things kept there because they were not left out in the looting, according to information reaching us.
“Whether they were there or took part in the looting, but the fact that we have not heard anything from either the security agencies or the officials of the amnesty is very shocking.
“It’s is also very shocking that the property, belonging to the ordinary people, which is supposed to improve their lives and in a community where a personality like Isaac Adaka Boro comes from, is not acceptable.”
James said the inauguration of the centre by officials of the amnesty office despite the brazen looting also showed that the amnesty office had something to hide.
“I think the commissioning (inauguration) was done to remove shame from the amnesty office because that place should have been completed and inaugurated a long time ago,” he stated.
