Major General Elia Costa, Police Commissioner in Jonglei State - (Photo: Courtesy).

A group of armed youths on Friday terrorized the residence of Nyirol County Commissioner in Jonglei State with heavy gunfire that injured a woman, in an alleged protest over non-payment of their wages, police said.

The state police commissioner, Major General Elia Costa said a woman sustained a bullet wound in the leg, from the incident.

General Costa said the local youth previously signed a casual contract with the ARC Company to protect construction workers in the volatile Gadiang area.

They were then paid part of the money, but the state government still owes each of them 50,000 pounds for the temporary contract.

According to him, the disgruntled youth stormed the residence of the Nyirol Commissioner on Friday morning to complain about the issue.

“Yesterday, the 14th of July, some young men went to the commissioner’s house to meet with him regarding the financial arrears that the state was supposed to pay, after the state government had hired them to guard the road construction companies operating on Akoba Road,” he told Eye Radio.

“The youth call on the commissioner in the meeting to pay the arrears of three months, the state government paid part of the money through the commissioners and what remains is fifty thousand for each one of them.”

The security official narrated that after the commissioner told the youth that the rest of the money has not been sent yet, they shot in the air in protest.

Speaking to Eye Radio on Saturday, General Costa said Commissioner James Bol Makuei was not harmed but that a woman was hit by a stray bullet.

“The commissioner told them that the rest of the amount had not been sent yet, so he got angry and fired live bullets in the air, causing a stray bullet to the leg of a woman.

The police chief further refuted rumors that Commissioner Bol was shot dead in the incident.

“He fled, and the woman was treated, and there is no news about the commissioner’s death yet.”