11th January, 2016
Okafor Ofeibor
of Bayelsa State
Less than, 18 hours after Governor Seriake Dickson was declared winner of the governorship election in the southern Nigerian state of Bayelsa, there was spontaneous jubilation in Yenagoa,the state capital.
However gun violence erupted in Peremabiri in Southern Ijaw local council, where no fewer than three persons are now dead and several others critically injured.
The cause of the violence in the community is not clear but sketchy information revealed that rival ex-militant groups are engaging themselves in a battle in the Peremabiri community.
Reports filtering from the coastal community has it that many houses in the community have also been burnt down as the armed militants engaged in a gun duel in the community.
Latest reports said the king of the community, Chief Progress Neverdie was shot and he is in a critical condition.
Prominent Nigerians, including the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, have condemned the violence that trailed Saturday’s supplementary governorship election in Southern Ijaw local government area of Bayelsa State.
The Bayelsa State Police Command said it has dispatched gunboats to the troubled town of Peremabiri following reports of violence in the area.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, Asinim Butwats, confirmed to journalists in Yenagoa that the police have received several calls from the community and have swung into action.
Butwats however said they cannot confirm if there is any casualty for now.
Governor Dickson has vowed that perpetrators of electoral violence will not go unpunished as a Judicial Commission Inquiry headed by a High Court Judge, Justice Margaret Akpomiemie had been mandated to find out the cause or causes of violence during the election in the state.