Leaders of Akinima community in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State have demanded N10m to appease their gods before an �Evil Forest� located in the area could be cleared.
The Caretaker Committee Chairman of Ahoada West, Mr. John Gelsthorpe, made this known to journalists on Monday.
According to Gelsthorpe, the council�s decision to clear the forest, which had become the centre for sacrifices and rituals, was resisted by the leaders of the community.
He said that as soon as the decision to clear the forest located behind the council secretariat was communicated to leaders of the community, they insisted that the gods must be compensated.
The community, he said, sent an emissary to the council and demanded that the sum of N10m should be released to them to carry out sacrifices to appease the deities.
But the council boss said that the local administration would not pay any compensation to either the community leaders or their gods before clearing the evil grove.
He said, �We have decided not to pay anything to the community leaders. Instead, we will invite men of God to come in from Port Harcourt and pray over the forest before we start clearing it.�
On the abandonment of some of the projects embarked upon by previous administrations in the area, the council boss noted that some of the jobs were awarded without documentation.