There were several cases of violence, ballot snatching, and voting
disruption during the Bayelsa supplementary elections of Saturday, most
especially in the Southern Ijaw LGA. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had scheduled
the supplementary poll for January 9, after the December 5, 2015
gubernatorial election in the state failed to produce a winner between
Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress and Seriake Dickson of
the Peoples Democratic Party.
Over 12 people were reportedly killed across the local governments during the governorship poll.
According to unconfirmed reports, out of the 12 deceased persons,
four were policemen, two were soldiers while six are suspected to be
militants. Also, two people were said to have been hit by stray bullets from
shootings in Ogoibiri area of Southern Ijaw, and their corpses were
allegedly taken to Oboro community in Bomadi, Delta State.
In Olodiama II in Southern Ijaw, men in military uniforms reportedly
took away election materials meant for five polling units in the area. In the Ekeremor home town of the Minister of Agriculture, Heineken
Lokpobiri, the Peoples Democratic Party alleged that the election was
rigged in favour of the All Progressives Congress.
Ballot boxes with result sheets were snatched just as voting was
disrupted by thugs at polling units in Amassoma and Gbarain. Dozens of
youths went round parts of Amassoma looking for the thugs snatching
ballot boxes. Meanwhile, in Akaibiri Ekpetiama, Yenagoa, a senior electoral officer
complained that hoodlums made several attempts to hijack electoral
materials from polling units in the area.
According to the electoral officer, the timely intervention of the
police and military personnel saved the materials from being forcefully
taken by the election thugs. Governor Dickson, speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel
Iworiso-Markson, accused APC chieftains of masterminding the killing of
innocent Bayelsans in Brass, Ekeremor, Nembe and Southern Ijaw.
Dickson also accused the security agencies of being partisan, by
providing cover for the APC to carry out violent acts and rig the
election.
“To achieve their sinister plot, APC militants hijacked election
materials and wrote results in many wards of Southern Ijaw, Brass,
Ekeremor town, Brass while election was disrupted in parts of Yenagoa
and in a polling unit in Otuokpoti, Ogbia Local Government.”
However, Senator Lokpobiri denied the claims that there were
shootings in Ekeremor, noting that the election was peaceful, orderly
and without violence in the area. Speaking through one of his aides, Preye Amba, the Senator said the
reported killing of security personnel in Ekeremor was callous and
wicked.
“Election in Ekeremor went on peacefully and the resort to this by
the PDP is just a way of laying the foundation to cancel the
supplementary poll so that whatever advantage it had before now will be
sustained. No shooting whatsoever in Ekeremor,”the minister said.
“Rather, it was the PDP, in concert with one Major Umar from 5
Battalion, Warri, which came to carry away electoral materials from
Ekeremor to Egbema Angalabiri. We have it on record that the said major
is on the pay roll of a known ex-militant leader bent on bringing down
the APC in Bayelsa State.”
“We call on the military authorities to investigate the role of the
said major because he took away the materials without any other escort
provided either by the police or the DSS.”
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