It is less than 24 hours to the Bayelsa governorship election. Tension is high in Kolokuma/ Opokuma and Bayelsa central senatorial district over the killing of a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Odi.
According to investigations, Dieseye Dickson the deputy chairman of Odi ward 1 was gunned by some people dressed in Army uniform.
Meanwhile, the Sylva/ Igiri Campaign Organisation ( SICO) in a statement by its Director of Publicity, Chief Nathan Egba has accused the Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) of being behind the killing , claiming that PDP thugs murdered the deceased as part of its strategy to intimidate APC members ahead of the elections tomorrow.
Egba who described the killing as wicked and unwarranted, called on the Police to fish out the killers and bring them to justice .
“As at this morning (Thursday) the corpse of Mr. Dickson, was still lying in a pool of his own blood where he was killed. Do note that this is the second killing being carried out by the PDP since the campaigns started. Recall that Mr. Andrew June , a ward chairman of our party in Ekeremor LGA was machete to death. We condemned this act of desperation by the PDP to continually attack and intimidate our supporters.”
“This killing is wicked, unwarranted and provocative. The APC and the campaign organization have repeatedly called on the police and other security agencies to step up their patrol to forestall any further attack on the APC members. Killers of these people must not be allowed to go unpunished.”
The PDP in the local government has however absolved itself of the killing of the deceased, pointing that he died during a shootout between Policemen and suspected kidnappers in a foiled kidnap attempt on one Chief Watson Ogoriba, elder brother of former member representing Yenagoa/ Kolokuma/ Opokuma Federal Constituency, Warman Ogoriba.
A member of the Federal House of Representative representing Yenagoa/Kolokuma/Opokuma constituency, Hon.Douye Diri,who confirmed the incident, said it was a case of foiled kidnap attempt. He said “it was not a party conflict.”
He continued “It was a case of failed kidnap attempt. It is not about PDP or the APC. When the kidnappers arrived the community, the vigilante people alerted the Police in Kaiama Divisional Command and they engaged the suspected kidnappers in a shoot-out. The victim may have been caught in a cross fire”.
