Yenagoa�Against the back drop of the upsurge in youth militancy in the troubled Niger Delta, security has been reinforced around expatriate construction workers operating in Bayelsa State.
The security beef up, it was gathered, might not be unconnected with the incessant kidnapping of construction workers by armed gunmen many of whom could not differentiate between oil workers and construction workers in the volatile oil rich but economically poor Niger Delta region.
About 70 foreigners have been kidnapped this year in the Niger Delta alone.
Only last week two Lebanese working with Setraco construction company were seized by armed gunmen at the company site at Amassoma where they were supervising the construction of a bridge project linking the university community of Amassoma to Ogobiri also on the Wilberforce Island.
Although the kidnappers of expatriate oil workers had often cited alleged insensitivity of the oil companies to the plight of the host communities but the situation in the region has assumed troublesome dimension with the youths failing to differentiate between oil company and construction company workers.
Armed soldiers backed by military gunboats were sighted at the Yenagoa waterfront where construction giant Julius Berger is handling the construction of the Ikoli Bridge across the Nun river which is expected to open up the Southern Ijaw local government area of the state which could be access at present only by river.
While armed mobile policemen and soldiers were also sighted escorting the construction expatriate workers in Yenagoa the state capital.
Unlike before where the expatriates frequent drinking joints, the story is different now as they cannot go unaccompanied by security operatives as they now move about in fear.
Lamenting the sad turn of event in the region an official of one of the construction companies in the state blamed the delay in the commencement of work in the dualisation of the East-West road on the precarious security situation in the delta on upsurge in hostage taking.
The source cited the Julius Berger example where two of their expatriate staff had to resign their appointments their deployment letter to resume work in the troubled delta to supervise the dualisation of the East-West road project from Kaiama in Bayelsa State to Eleme in Rivers State because of the precarious security situation in the region where rampaging armed gunmen hardly differentiate between construction workers and oil company personnel before swooping on their targets.
Disturbed by the development, a group of Bayelsans based in Delta State under the auspices of Bayelsans in Delta Political Forum have called on the people of the state and others living in the Niger Delta to expose those engaged in hostage taking activities.
The group in a statement signed by its chairman Mr. Daniel Erekake made available to newsmen in Yenagoa noted with sadness that those involved the act are not freedom fighters as they are claiming but hiding under the guise of militants fighting to liberate the people of the region to perpetuate illegality.
He described such freedom fighters as criminals who have undermined the socio-economic and political growth of the region and urged Bayelsans to rise up to challenge and expose them since they are economic saboteurs.
Erekake noted that hostage taking is anti social and therefore should be discouraged and condemned by all especially at a time government is doing everything humanly possible to address the problem of the region.