Bayelsa Polls: Governor Dickson alleges killing of security men

Gov. Dickson

Governor Seriake Dickson has alleged that the supplimentary election of Saturday was marred by electoral malpractice and violence in Brass, Nembe, Ekeremor town and parts of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

In a statement signed by Chief Press Secretary to Bayelsa Governor, Mr Daniel
Iworiso-Markson, the governor accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)
chieftains of masterminding the killings.

The governor said the violence has also vindicated him on his earlier position that the security agencies particularly, the Nigeria military are partisan and not willing to protect the enabling
environment for a free and fair election to take place.

The Governor also accused the security agencies of providing cover for the
APC to perpetrate violence and rig the elections in the state.

“To achieve their sinister plot, APC militants hijacked election materials and wrote results in many wards of Southern Ijaw, Brass, Ekeremor town, Brass while elections were disrupted in parts of Yenagoa and in a polling unit in Otokpoti, Ogbia Local Government.

“The governor called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to cancel the elections in polling units where the APC hijacked election and results written,” Dickson said.

Dickson said that over 14 people were feared dead, four of them are policemen, two soldiers and eight civilians in Ekeremor.

He said that many PDP members were attacked in Brass and Southern Ijaw and are in critical
conditions at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.

The governor wept for those who were killed and prayed for the repose of
their souls.

While calling for the arrest of the perpetrators of the killings, Governor Dickson condoled with the families of those who have lost their dear ones.

Reacting to the development, a Deputy Inspector of Police from the Force Headquaters who supervised the elections in Ekeremor Local Government Area, S.A Hashimu dismissed the claims that policemen die.

“I personally supervised the elections in Ekeremor, I was on the ground and I just came back from Ekeremor and I did not get any report of any death of my men,” he said.

Also Mr Doifie Buokoribo, Media Adviser to former governor of Bayelsa, Chief Timipre Sylva dismissed the allegations as fiction, adding that the Police  authourities had spoken on the matter.