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As the people of Bayelsa State go to the poll today (Saturday) to elect
their next governor, the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta has seized
hand grenades, AK 47 rifle magazines, among other items believed to be
meant for disrupting the election.
The Task Force Commander,
Major General Alani Okunlola, disclosed on Friday that the force had
seized 36 hand grenades, two AK 47 rifle magazines, a pair of military
uniform, combat boots and a bag containing personal belongings.
The weapons and other items were recovered from five suspected political thugs, according to the JTF.
Okunlola
explained that the ammunition was recovered during an intensive patrol
of Mansonkri Fishing Camp, Southern Ijaw Creek in Nembe and Southern
Ijaw Local Government Area.
He added that the arrest of the suspects was made on Thursday in their hideouts in Okaka, Yenagoa, the state capital.
Okunlola added that preliminary investigation was ongoing to determine the mission of the five arrested suspects.
He
said, “On December 3, 2015, following a tip-off, our troops arrested
five suspected political thugs in their hideouts at Okaka, Yenagoa,
Bayelsa State, while on patrol.
As
the people of Bayelsa State go to the poll today (Saturday) to elect
their next governor, the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta has seized
hand grenades, AK 47 rifle magazines, among other items believed to be
meant for disrupting the election.
The Task Force Commander,
Major General Alani Okunlola, disclosed on Friday that the force had
seized 36 hand grenades, two AK 47 rifle magazines, a pair of military
uniform, combat boots and a bag containing personal belongings.
The weapons and other items were recovered from five suspected political thugs, according to the JTF.
Okunlola
explained that the ammunition was recovered during an intensive patrol
of Mansonkri Fishing Camp, Southern Ijaw Creek in Nembe and Southern
Ijaw Local Government Area.
He added that the arrest of the suspects was made on Thursday in their hideouts in Okaka, Yenagoa, the state capital.
Okunlola added that preliminary investigation was ongoing to determine the mission of the five arrested suspects.
He
said, “On December 3, 2015, following a tip-off, our troops arrested
five suspected political thugs in their hideouts at Okaka, Yenagoa,
Bayelsa State, while on patrol.
“They were arrested while in
possession of 36 hand grenades, two empty AK 47 rifle magazines, a pair
of military uniform, combat boots and a bag containing personal
belongings.”
Meanwhile, residents have expressed palpable fear of violence in the state.
In
Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, one of the eight council areas of
the state, residents accused militants of threatening to unleash mayhem
in the place.
Fear over possible violence in Bayelsa LGA
Some
security operatives have also expressed apprehension following their
posting to the Bayelsa Local Government Area, saying it is known to be
volatile during election periods.
For example, a police officer,
who spoke on condition of anonymity, was displeased when he noticed that
he had been reposted to Southern Ijaw from Yenagoa.
The officer
said he was shocked to find his name on the list of security operatives
to work in Southern Ijaw after he had initially been posted to the
capital city.
The police inspector said, “I am not happy. How
could they have removed my name from the Yenagoa list and added to the
list of policemen to cover Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. That
place is always hot (dangerous) during election period.”
He also
alleged that some hoodlums in the area had already sewn phony police and
military uniforms with the intention of unleashing mayhem during the
election.
“When you see people like police and soldiers shooting
indiscriminately, do not think they are real soldiers. They are the
hoodlums that are prepared to cause confusion and make the election
difficult,” the officer said.
An indigene of Southern Ijaw Area,
who identified himself as Fred, also expressed apprehension ahead of the
conduct of the governorship election.
Fred said, “I advise my
fellow Bayelsans to go and vote peacefully and avoid violence. The
election should not be seen as a do-or-die affair.
“Southern Ijaw
is volatile because majority of the militants are from there. So, we
cannot predict what will happen tomorrow because we have been hearing
rumours here and there.
“We hear that they (militants) are saying
that they don’t want to see anyone vote for a particular party, but I
don’t know why this is the case because no one should force anyone to
vote for any party.”
Reacting to the alleged apprehension in
Southern Ijaw, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Asinim
Butswat, said the police had made adequate deployment of operatives to
deal “decisively” with any violent conduct.
Deployment of Armoured Personnel Carriers
In
Yenagoa, three big armoured personnel carriers were seen moving to some
unidentified areas of the state while scores of police trucks, loaded
with security operatives, were also seen moving out of Yenagoa to other
areas.
It was later learnt that the APCs would be stationed at some of the volatile areas on Election Day (today).
The
State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Paritor Kpatih, had earlier,
said that INEC did not experience any difficulty while sending election
materials to the coastal areas, adding that the materials were
dispatched with gunboats.
Hoodlums allegedly sewed fake police, army uniforms
There are allegations that some hoodlums in Southern Ijaw had sewn fake police and army uniforms.
Butswat told Saturday PUNCH that a unique tag would be used by security agents during the election for proper identification.
Describing
the fear expressed by the residents as unnecessary, Butswat said that
the police force had already carried out a risk assessment in all the
areas in the state, including Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
He
said, “It is a rumour. Our deployment is enough to deal decisively with
any untoward occurrence. A unique tag will be used by security agents
for proper identification. The police are adequately prepared to
maintain law and order.
“We have deployed enough security
personnel in all parts of the state, including Southern Ijaw. So, the
residents should not panic. The police are on top of the situation. No
fewer than 14,000 officers and men have been deployed in the state.”
He, therefore, urged the residents to go out and exercise their rights to vote without fear and intimidation.
Bank customers stranded, ATMs temporarily stopped
However,
the mood in some banks was tense as customers were stranded as they
could not gain entrance following early closure of operations.
It
was observed that the United Bank for Africa, Marata Branch in Yenagoa,
closed by 2pm as against the normal closing time of 4pm.
This caused some aggrieved customers to express anger over the decision of the bank.
Also, some residents who wanted to withdraw money on some Automated Teller Machines for the weekend experienced some delays.
Yenagoa residents travelling en masse to vote
It
was also observed that some voters, who had registered in their various
hometowns, were travelling en masse to participate in today’s
governorship election.
One of such persons, who identified
himself as Solomon, told Saturday PUNCH that it would be the first time
Bayelsa would be facing “real and competitive election.”
Also, an
indigene of the state, Timpre Okpogri, warned security operatives not
to meddle with the electoral process, saying the people of the state
would resist any attempt by any individual or persons to impose a leader
on them.
Okpogri noted that the truckloads of policemen that
were brought into the state might not be deployed beyond Yenagoa, the
state capital. - See more at:
http://www.mcebisco.com/2015/12/breaking-news-jtf-recovers-explosives.html#sthash.wypPfJ8m.bwtQ8ywz.dpuf
