Youth leaders in Rivers State have decried the rising cases of kidnapping and killings in the State, blaming the situation on the multinationals.
A youth leader, Chijioke Ihunwo accused International Oil Companies of empowering former millitants with arms.
Mr Ihunwo in an interview with our reporter said former millitants used money from the surveillance jobs to purchase arms.
“They are also part of the challenges we are facing being the multinationals. Because they encourage most of these criminality by giving surveillance jobs to ex- agitators to secure their facility. And they are allowing them to buy arms to secure their facilities. So those people who are committing these crimes are young people not elderly ones” he stated.
Mr Ihunwo who also accused traditional rulers of fueling youths restiveness in the State however called on the Rivers State government to immediately hold a stake holders meeting to resolve the issue.
” There should be a stake holders meeting, where we call the youth leaders, traditional rulers and CDCs. We must say the truth”
” If you are a traditional ruler, you must concentrate as a traditional ruler. If you are a youth leader, you concentrate on your youth leadership. And if you are a CDC chairman, do your job. We don’t want somebody doing three different jobs” he stated.
He further advised the government to state it clearly to them that they should not empower those boys to carry arm. Mr Ihunwo also said that the kidnapping that is happening now is as a result of the job they give to the traditional rulers instead of the youths.
Meanwhile, another youth leader Nwisabari Bani said unemployment among youth is the reason for insecurity in Rivers State.
” Cultism is one of the fruits of unemployment in the area. You can not eradicate the fact that the root cause of this, is unemployment”
Mr Nwisabari advised the youth not to take laws into their hands, but should remain law abiding so that investors can come in and so that they can be engaged meaningfully.
He further stressed that security is every man’s business. Advising that everyone should do their own part to work with government agencies to ensure that crimes at all levels are curbed.
Mr Nwisabari also called on Federal and State government to give necessary support to security operatives and to create employment opportunities in order to reduce crime.
