Nigerian army sends troops to tense region
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-29 10:07

The Nigerian army on Monday deployed troops to a tense, oil-rich southern state after demonstrators took to the streets both in support of and against a governor charged in a corruption case.

Brig. Gen. Elias Zamani, the regional military commander, said the troops were dispatched because officials had received reports of armed youths coming to the area.

"We don't want a situation where the different groups would clash. ... This is a preventive measure," Zamani said, refusing to give the number of troops sent to Bayelsa state.

He said some of the armed men support Gov. Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, who was arrested in London in September and charged with laundering $3.2 million of stolen government funds.

The governor's supporters were among the hundreds of demonstrators who marched through the state capital of Yenagoa on Monday, demanding he be allowed to complete his term ending in 2007.

Protesters, meanwhile, carried a mock coffin depicting Alamieyeseigha dressed as a woman, a reference to reports he disguised himself as a woman to jump bail in Britain — something Alamieyeseigha has denied.

Roughly half of the allegedly stolen funds were found stuffed in suitcases at Alamieyeseigha's $2.9 million house in west London. He fled London last week while free on bail and returned to Nigeria, where his office gives him immunity from prosecution.

State lawmakers have begun an impeachment process against him.

Oyeinfie Jonjon, leader of Ijaw Youth Council activist group, said Alamieyeseigha was being persecuted by the government for defending the rights of the Ijaw ethnic group — the largest ethnic group in the main oil-producing areas in southern Nigeria.

Jonjon, who spoke to The Associated Press from Bayelsa, accused the soldiers of seeking to ensure "that Alamieyeseigha is impeached." He said soldiers were forcing people to strip at roadblocks to show they were not carrying weapons.

Although a member of the ruling party, Alamieyeseigha has been increasingly at odds with President Olusegun Obasanjo over demands the Niger delta region receive a greater share of national oil revenues.

In a letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair dated Nov. 23, Obasanjo expressed concerns that the governor managed to leave Britain, several local newspapers reported on Monday. Obasanjo's spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.