The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide has shut down the Bayelsa office of the Niger Delta Development Commission to protest against the refusal of the Federal Government to inaugurate a substantive board of the NDDC.

The youths, who flew the flags of IYC, were said to have also stopped traffic along the Mbiama-axis of the busy East-West road.

The organisation had earlier issued a 30-day ultimatum, which expired on May 25th, for the Federal Government and the Ministry of the Niger Delta Affairs to constitute the board or risk total shutdown of the Niger Delta.

Meanwhile, before the protest began, there were reports that the IYC President, Peter Timothy Igbifa, was whisked to an unknown place by masked gunmen

Igbifa was on his way to the International Airport Port Harcourt on Tuesday to board a flight to Abuja for a meeting when the gunmen reportedly blocked his vehicle, seized him and took him away.