From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
One person was confirmed dead as suspected cult boys attacked officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Daily Sun gathered that NDLEA, worried by the rampant sale of illicit drugs in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, had commissioned some of its officers in an undercover operation to trace the source of the sales.
The undercover operation took the officers to Yenizue- Epie on March 15, where they were able to buy cannabis sativa and crack cocaine from a notorious female drug dealer, identified as Rebecca.
On Wednesday, the NDLEA officers, armed with enough evidence, stormed Yenizue- Epie to arrest Rebecca and seized the illicit drugs in her possession. The officers were on their way out of the way when cult boys prevented them from leaving and attacked them with bottles, stones and improvised explosive devices, leading to exchange of gun shots.
The cult boys, in the process, were able to free Rebecca and collected the seized drugs, but NDLEA officers were able to arrest one suspect, Abraham Aderin, who was fingered to have instigated the attack.
The cult boys, not satisfied, marched to the NDLEA Bayelsa Command headquarters, at Okaka, with the lifeless body of Moses Akada, where they attacked the building, throwing bottles and improvised explosives with the intention to set it ablaze. Also vandalised were vehicles in the vicinity.
The situation was, however, brought under control with the reinforcement from the Bayelsa State Security service, Operation Doo Akpo.
Speaking in an interview, the Commander, NDLEA, Bayelsa State Command, Kanu Sunny Chukwuemeka, expressed sadness over the ugly incident. While condemning, in strong terms, the behaviour of the youths who were supposed to be the advocates of peaceful society and hope of the future, he lamented that they were the ones taking laws into their hands by aiding and abetting the commission of drug crimes, “the bane of our insecurity problems, and obstructing the arrest of a suspect.”
Chukwuemeka thanked the swiftness and gallantry of the police in rising to the occasion, and the leadership of the IYC central zone, who were all on ground to help bring the situation under control. He disclosed that the body of the deceased has been deposited at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, pending investigation into the real cause of his death.
He commiserated with the family of the deceased and asked for calmness with assurance that the matter was being looked into.