Unknown gunmen, on Wednesday, abducted the National President of Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Peter Timothy Ibifa.
Our reporter learnt that Ibifa was abducted by heavily armed men along the popular Obiri Ikwere axis of east west road on his way from the Port Harcourt International Airport to the venue of a scheduled meeting with the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Program.
- Officer killed, patrol van set ablaze as mob attacks policemen in Delta
- Reps grill EFCC chairman over recovered loots, assets
The abduction of Ibifa was coming less than three hours after Ijaw youths barricaded the Bayelsa liaison office of NDDC and the popular Mbiama junction sharing boundary with Rivers State.
IYC Publicity Secretary, Ebilade Ekerefe, who spoke with reporter on telephone said that Ibifa was abducted along the Obiri Ikwerre axis of east west road.
He called on the security agencies to swing into action and ensure the unconditional release of IYC President, saying that his abduction would compound the already fragile security situation in the region.
The IYC Worldwide had earlier in the day shut down the Bayelsa liaison office of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Mbiama-axis of the East-West road for what it described as a mother-of-all protest against the refusal of the Federal Government to inaugurate a substantive board of the NDDC.
Our reporter learnt that youths of Ijaw extraction, armed with its symbolic IYC flags, were said to have obstructed traffic along the ever-busy East-West road, causing panic among motorists and commuters.
The organisation had earlier issued a 30-day ultimatum, which expired on May 25th, for the Federal Government and the Ministry of the Niger Delta Affairs to constitute the board or risk total shutdown of the Niger Delta.