Police deploys over 2,000 men for Bayelsa supplementary poll

As the wave of political violence is spreading across Bayelsa State in the count-down to the governorship supplementary election, the Police in the state said that over 2,000 officers have been deployed to ensure free, fair and credible poll.

Nasiru Oki, out-going Commissioner of Police Bayelsa State, told NEWSVERGE that the police is fully prepared for the re-run election and that adequate logistics have been made available to ensure inch-free election.

When asked on the pockets of attacks on some individuals in the state hours to the election, Mr. Oki said that though such cannot be ruled out but maintained that the “Police is fully prepared”.

It would be recalled that the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Konbo­wei Benson, came under attack on Thursday morning by unidenti­fied assailants who bombed the house in the Korokrosie Community of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state with improvised explosive devices.

Although, no life was lost in the bomb attack on Hon. Benson’s home but the explosives was suspected to be dynamite, caused a huge damage to the building.

This development is com­ing just 48 hours before tomor­row’s scheduled re-run election in Southern Ijaw Local Govern­ment Area.

Also yesterday, five thugs were arrested by the police in a hide­out Yenagoa, the state capital. The men were said to have plotted to bomb the country home of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The bombing incident, which occurred about 4am Thursday morning, is one of the series of at­tacks recorded between suspect­ed loyalists of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the build-up to tomorrow’s re-run election in Southern Ijaw and oth­er 101 units of Ekeremor, Nembe, Yenagoa and Sagbama local Gov­ernment Areas of the state.

Meanwhile, five suspected thugs allegedly hired to bomb the home of the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan have been arrested by operatives of the State Police Command.

The arrest, which was carried out in an unnamed hotel in Swali area of the Yenagoa Local Gov­ernment Area of the state, has sparked off security concerns in the state.

Sources confirmed that the suspects were rounded up by the police based on a tip-off while they were perfecting their strategy on how to attack the Yenagoa home of the former president.

While the APC governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva confirmed it during a media in­teraction and described the sus­pects as hired hands of the rul­ing PDP, the PDP is yet to react to the claim.

But the police, through its spokesman, Astim Butswat, did not mention the political affilia­tion of the arrested suspects, but insisted that those arrested were “plotting to attack a yet to be iden­tified target.” The police gave the names of the arrested suspects as Timiere Matthew (25); Samu­el Joe (27), Emeka Asupha (34), Ebipre Ebebi (25) and Okilo Mat­thew (25).

The Police Command has announced the restriction of movement of persons, motor vehicles and tricycles in the entire state from 6am to 6pm on Saturday when the supplementary state governorship election will be conducted in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area and 101 units.

This was contained in a statement on Thursday by the PRO of the state police command, Asinim Butswat, a Deputy Superinten­dent of Police (DSP).

Butswat said that security agencies had been ordered to also enforce the restriction of move­ment of boats fitted with 200 Horse Power engines and above and all river craft activities in the state waterways from 7pm to 7am from today to Sunday 10 January, 2016.

The PRO said the command had beefed up security with in­creased foot, vehicular, and wa­terways patrols as well as in­tensive aerial surveillance in all nooks and crannies of the state – to ensure a hitch-free conduct of the re-run governorship polls.