IYC leaders risk jail over invasion of Murray-Bruce station

Yenagoa

Six executive members of the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide risk imprisonment for alleged impersonation, contempt of court, violent conduct and invasion of Rhythm FM station, owned by Senator Ben Murray-Bruce.

The Ijaw youth leaders, identified as Chief Preye Agama, Jeremiah Owoupele, Saviour Olali, Jonathan Lokpobiri, Bristol Emmanuel and Wisdom Ikuli, were also accused of volation of the order of the court on the tenure of the Udengs Eradiri leadership.

 The contempt charge filed by the President of the IYC, Udengs Eradiri, sequel to his purported suspension by the six leaders against the IYC Constitution, alleged that they violated the court order issued by Justice Y.E. Ogola in 2015, affirming that his tenure ends in 2017.

 Eradiri said on Saturday that though the IYC had its disciplinary method, his recourse to court was a follow-up to the various petitions written to the security agencies on the activities of those youth leaders in the council.

On last Thursday armed invasion of Murray-Bruce radio station in Yenagoa by some IYC youths, Eradiri alleged that the attack was carried out by “dissident youths and sponsored by the dissident IYC executive members.”

 He, however, said as the President of the group, he accepted responsibility for the invasion, and therefore, tendered an unreserved apology to the station’s management,

 He said, “I take the responsibility for the attack on the Rhythm FM station, as IYC President. When I heard that some persons were impersonating the spokesman of the council on radio, I decided to go there.

 “When I was close by, some thugs tried to attack me but other youths engaged them. Those ‘impostors’ were on air, abusing Ijaw land. They were apprehended and handed to the police. It is a sacrilege to abuse the IYC president in Ijaw land.”

 The IYC has been in the throes of crisis recently following the claims of six executive members that Eradiri and IYC spokesman, Mr. Eric Omare, had been suspended.

 The document purportedly suspending Eradiri and Omare was signed by the National Secretary-General, Bristol-Alagbariye Emmanuel; Director of Mobilisation, Wisdom Ikuli; Legal Adviser, Ekine Egberekro; Assistant Secretary, Deinkoro George; National Women Leader, Felicia Ngeri and Financial Secretary, Kemepado Alfred.

The aggrieved executive members accused Eradiri and Omare of highhandedness and financial misappropriation. They went further to claim that they had replaced Eradiri and Omare with  Elvis Donkemezuo and Edounkimor respectively.

But the Speaker of IYC Mobile Parliament, Mr. Mkpon Ijonama, said reports that Eardiri and Omare had been suspended were the handiwork of few misled members of the IYC executives.

 IYC Parliament is saddled with the responsibility of sanctioning erring members of the council.

 Ijonama said the persons bandying the suspension document failed to follow the procedures contained in Article 10 of the IYC Constitution.

 He said, “We have a procedure, as an entity, and Article 10 of the constitution of IYC spells out boldly and clearly the procedure in which one can be suspended or removed from the council. None of the procedures were met before the so-called suspension on social media.”