LAGOS, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- There were mixed reactions in Yenegoa, capital of Bayelsa state in southern Nigeria on Friday tothe news of the arrest of Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha by the British police, local media reported Saturday.

    The oil-rich state's governor was arrested on Thursday in London on allegation of money laundering of between 10 million and20 million pounds (about 18 to 36 million US dollars).

    According to the official News Agency of Nigeria, most politicians and top government officials in the state were almost short of words when reacting to the governor's arrest.

    The atmosphere at both the state secretariat and the Creek Haven, the state's seat of power, was quiet as top government officials and politicians were seen discussing in groups in low tones.

    However, some of the governor's aides, who were contacted on telephone declined to comment on the incident, saying "the governor cannot be reached for any information."

    Some politicians, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said thearrest was politically motivated, while others described it as "a welcome development," especially with so much display of wealth bypoliticians in the state.

    However, the Bayelsa State Chapter of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) described the governor's arrest in London as a "monumental embarrassment to Bayelsa state and a vindication on the CNPP's stand on corruption."

    Also reacting to the governor's arrest, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) in a press statement in Yenagoa accused the British government of declaring a war against the Ijaws.

    The militant group described the recent questioning of the three top government officials by the anti-corruption body Economic and Financial Crime Committee (EFCC) and the arrest of the governor as a grand plan to destabilize the Ijaws and turn theattention of the citizens away from central issues.

    Last week, Alamieyeseigha's three aides, including the finance commissioner, accountant-general and government house accountant, were detained and questioned by the EFCC in connection with alleged cases of diversion of public funds through purchases and awards of contracts.

    IYC, therefore, demanded that the British authorities release the state's number one citizen "otherwise we can not continue to guarantee the safety of their investments and their citizens in our territories."

    The Nigerian government in collusion with the British authorities were "set to deliberately provoke the people of the Niger Delta to violence, so that they can invoke a state of emergency," said the statement.

    A group of women on Thursday protested against the EFCC's recent whisking of three top officials of the state. Meanwhile, newspaper vendors had a field day on Friday in Yenagoa as residents of the state capital rushed to purchase copies of paperscarrying news of the arrest of the governor in London.

    Cyber cafes were also very busy as those who could not find copies of newspapers decided to download from the internet.

    Alamieyeseigha's arrest may be connected to the transfer of themoney believed to be between 10 million and 20 million pounds (18 million dollars and 36 million dollars) from an account with the HSBC, a prominent bank in London, Nigerian press reported.

    British police also seized some one million pounds and propertyvalued at about 2 million pounds (3.6 dollars) during a search of the governor's house in London following the arrest.

    Some reports meanwhile quoted sources as saying that he may be detained by British police for some days for further interrogation. Enditem