 |
| Some of the suspected cultists that were paraded by the Bayelsa Police Command, some weeks ago |
For quite some time, residents of Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State have been enjoying what may be termed relative peace and tranquillity. Cult related violence and mindless killings, which had hitherto subjected the Ijaw people to trepidation and insecurity, even during the heydays of the disbanded special security outfit, code-named “Operation Famou Tangbei” had subsided to a reasonable extent.
Unexpectedly, the peace being savoured by the people, was shattered last week Sunday, when renewed cult hostilities resulted in the gruesome death of no fewer than five persons at Edepie, a suburb of the state capital.
Reminiscent of a scene in one of the Hollywood action-packed thrillers, the gunmen stormed a relaxation joint, identified as Phil Collins Bar, in a black Mercedes Benz jeep, around 8.15 p.m. with sophisticated lethal weapons and mowed down their target, who was busy sipping chilled drink.
Witness informed Saturday Tribune that after their target was down, the assailants swiftly dragged his blood-soaked body into their vehicle, just as they allegedly shot sporadically into different directions in a desperate bid to scare away the fear gripped-residents and pedestrians.
Subsequently, the development, which sent jitters down the spines of the people in the area, forced other shop owners around the vicinity to hurriedly abandon their business premises and ran for dear lives.
By the time the deafening sound of the gunshots ended, four other innocent persons had been hit by stray bullets, thus leading to their untimely death.
While many were still wondering why cult violence resurfaced again in the oil rich state, despite the seeming lull, another gun duel between warring cultists ensued on Wednesday night around Ekeki Park, Azikoro road and Amarata, in Yenagoa, culminating in sporadic shooting, which lasted for more than 40 minutes.
Though, Ekeki Divisional Police Station is situated few metres away from where the cult hostilities occurred around 7.15 p.m., residents of the areas had to scamper for safety, with a view to avoiding being hit by stray bullets.
A resident in the affected areas, who pleaded anonymity, informed Saturday Tribune that when the smoking guns of the cultists stopped, no fewer than three-persons had died as a result of the violent clash and policemen did not mobilise to the scene to restore law and order until after the alleged perpetrators had bolted away.
However, residents of Bayelsa State have begun to express deep concern that these latest killings are coming against the backdrop of the forthcoming gubernatorial primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is slated to hold on November 19, ahead the much-awaited governorship election scheduled to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state by February 11, 2012.
It is quite inexplicable to discover that regardless of the measures put in place by the security operatives, cultism also thrives among pupils of secondary schools in the state, some of whom were about three months ago, arrested by men of the Bayelsa State police command while they were carrying out initiation procedures on their new entrants.
There are strong indications that the resurgence of the cult violence may have been fuelled by some desperate politicians, who have perfected plans to either instigate violence or use the cultists to pursue individual interests and achieve some political ends.
Reacting to the development, the National Youth Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Comrade Ebibikina Miriki, who is also from Bayelsa State remarked that “Our party condemned in its entirety the heavy shootout around Ekeki Park and Azikoro road in the state capital, which led to the death of some persons.
“We describe the act as not only a theatre of absurdity, but also a grave ineptitude and indictment of the PDP-led administration of Governor Timipre Sylva and Bayelsa State police command over their failure to protect lives and properties of the citizenry. This ugly trend reaffirms ACN’s position for the urgent need to convene a stakeholders meeting as a build up to the 2012 governorship election in the state,” he asserted.
Continuing, Comrade Miriki added that, “It is even more worrisome and disheartening to know how the fierce gun duel, which lasted for quite some time, was carried out with impunity, not even the proximity of Ekeki Police Station to the scene of the incident could save the situation or help the defenceless people of the affected area.”
He, therefore, implored the people, most especially the youth to shun any group of persons or politicians, who are bent or desperate to use them as a canon fodder to unleash mayhem on the state, emphasising that the need to foster peace, which is germane to healthy socio-economic and political growth of Bayelsa state should be the collective responsibility of all and sundry.
With the prevailing insecurity situation, taking a walk on the streets, in the state capital, Yenagoa, or any other town and community in the oil rich state, may come with a lot of grave risk and unexpected costly sacrifices.
Whenever breaches to peace and orderliness occur, residents around the scene of the area are made to go through horrors, trepidation and psychological trauma of killings and maiming allegedly perpetrated by the cultists.
Commenting on the development, the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Mr Hilary Opara, in a telephone conversation with Sunday Tribune, confirmed the latest shootout among warring cult groups on Wednesday night. He disclosed that “the DPO of Ekeki Police Division had already informed me that some arrests have been made, regarding the incident and he would be in my office this morning (Thursday) to give detailed reports.”
The police boss, who declined to give the figures of persons that died in the latest gun duel, stated that “there were casualties during the violent clash, but I cannot give you details now until I get a comprehensive report from the DPO.”
On the measures being adopted to checkmate re-occurrence of such incident and how growing rate of insecurity can be stemmed, Opara contended that “we are working round the clock to ensure effective security of lives and property in Bayelsa. But, we cannot divulge all our strategies to the public so that the criminals would not be privy or have prior knowledge of it.”
He, however, assured that his men were on top of the situation, pointing out that the police would also step up its patrols of all nooks and crannies of Bayelsa, with a view to making the state unconducive for criminal elements.
No comments:
Post a Comment