Angry protesters attack IYC president in Bayelsa

Angry youths protesting police brutality in Bayelsa State yesterday evening attacked the president of Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Peter Igbifa, over alleged reluctance to call out Ijaw youths from the nine states of the region for the ongoing protest.

Igbifa, who

was said to have gone to the Bayelsa State Government House to meet Governor Douye Diri, met a crowd of protesters at the entrance who turned on him chanting “Thief! Thief! Coward!” at him.

The IYC president, who is originally from Rivers State, was eventually guarded out of the rowdy situation by some bodyguards and few Ijaw youths as the protesters continued hauling obscene words at him.

Reacting to the development, the spokesman of the council, Comrade Ebilade Ekerefe, described the action of the angry protesters as a "sacrilege", saying "IYC is a movement that is founded on principles with a clear mandate and therefore, cannot jump into the arena of socio-political struggles without studying the unfolding developments and the positive impact such struggles will bring to the table for our people."