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Tag: Bayelsa

  • APC chief, others defect to PDP in Bayelsa

    APC chief, others defect to PDP in Bayelsa

    A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Jackson Suokiri, was among those who defected to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday at Odi in Kolokuma Okpokuma Local Government of Bayelsa State.

    Suokiri, a one-time secretary of PDP and commissioner defected to APC before the 2015 general election.

    He was among the faithful who welcomed Governor Seriake Dickson to Odi community when he visited the place on Monday to celebrate the New Year Day.

    Dickson admonished the political class to connect with the people, especially at the grassroots and not only when they needed their votes.

    He urged the political class to have contact with the electorate by visiting and interacting with them, stressing that it is by so doing that politicians will gain the trust and confidence of the people.

    The governor said as a grassroots politician, he would remain connected to the people in appreciation of the massive support he had received from them over the years.

    He said: “The power of the people is the most potent weapon you can find anywhere in the world; more potent than any armoury. The difference between me and many politicians is that I am a countryman. I connect with the people, I feel their pains, when they are happy I am happy and vice versa. I appreciate the people because they have made me what I am and above all, they have made PDP the strongest party, the only party that can win election in our state.

    “For those who seek political office, we must not go out to hurt people for their welfare and interest should ordinarily be the reason for being in politics. We should be civil as we carry out our activities in 2018, being a crucial year before the elections.”

    The Chief Whip of the House of Assembly and a member representing Kolokuma/Opokuma Constituency I,  Tonye Isenah, described Suokiri as a high profile politician, who had traversed the political landscape for decades, noting that his return would positively impact on PDP in the local government.

    He enjoined other APC members to retrace their steps, “as PDP remains the party of every right thinking Bayelsan, who means well for the state and its people.”

    PDP state Chairman Cleopas Moses hailed Suokiri for quitting APC for PDP, which he said was his home.

    He stressed that Suokiri was a committed and deep rooted PDP member before those wielding broom hoodwinked him into joining them.

    Moses noted that as a foundation member of the party, he had returned to rejoin the family he rightfully belonged to.

     

  • Two die in rival gangs clash in Bayelsa

    Two die in rival gangs clash in Bayelsa

    Residents of Ondewari, a coastal settlement in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa have fled the area following clashes between rival gangs in which two persons were reported dead.

    Most of the residents observed the New Year in the bushes where they are hiding.

    A resident and renowned environmentalist, Mr Alagoa Morris said that the community has been deserted since the crisis commenced on December 30, 2017.

    According to him, two persons were killed last July in similar clashes.

    Morris urged relevant security agencies to intervene and restore peace to the community.

    “Our pain is that this crisis was avoidable; the community leadership had cried out to state government and drew the attention of the security agencies to the raging issues bordering on pipeline surveillance jobs at oilfields in the area but nothing happened.

    Read also: Borno reviews curfew in Maiduguri

    “The situation would have been nipped in the bud, but here we are, four youths have been lost to the oil industry induced conflict that has left the community in a mourning mood.”

    According to him, efforts are on at the community level to resolve the crisis.

    Chief Peresho Erefawari, Acting Paramount Ruler of the community decried the frequent clashes by armed gangs in the area and urged the state government to halt the bloodshed.

    “The clash was caused by protest by some youths in the community who are aggrieved over their exclusion in the petroleum pipeline protection jobs in the area.

    “We have tried in vain to broker truce so that peace will prevail but to no avail,” he said.

    NAN

  • Gunmen kidnap monarch’s wife, principal in Bayelsa

    Gunmen kidnap monarch’s wife, principal in Bayelsa

    Unidentified gunmen at the weekend stormed the Ayakoro community in Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State and kidnapped Mrs Tina Inegbagha, the wife of the community’s Paramount Ruler, Righteous Inegbagha.

    It was gathered that the gunmen, who shot sporadically into the air, also abducted the Principal of the Government Craft Development Centre, Ayakoro, Mr. Egbele Jack, who hails from Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state.

    It was gathered that the victims were whisked away on Saturday by the gunmen, who were said to have come “in a fairly large number”.

    Sources from the community said the assailants struck around 2am with three AK47 rifles, machetes and other weapons.

    A member of the monarch’s family, who spoke in confidence, said the gunmen operated in the community for two hours, looting properties and other valuables worth millions of naira.

    He said some community members mobilised to rescue the situation but that they could not because the kidnappers were fully armed.

    A son of the paramount ruler, who narrated his ordeal, said he was beaten to a pulp by the gunmen when he accosted them.

    “When they came in through the window, they were asking of my father. I told them, he travelled but they asked me to take them to where he kept his money. I told them, I was not aware of any money in the house.

    “They descended on me and started beating me with machetes. My mother heard their voices and came out. They seized and asked her to take them to my father’s room.

    “They ransacked the room, scattered documents searching for money. They carried a generator in and took my mother away. They threatened to shoot me if I tried to stop them”, he said.

    Also the wife of the kidnapped principal, Mrs. Arila, who cried for her husband’s release, said they broke the door to their living room, gained access to her husband’s room and took him away.

  • One dead in Bayelsa fresh attack

    One dead in Bayelsa fresh attack

    Another ferry operator has been killed by gunmen on the Yenagoa-Akassa waterway in Bayelsa, NAN reports.

    The incident occurred barely 24 hours after the killing of a boat operator on the Sangana- Igbemotoru waterway on December 13.

    Community sources told a correspondent that the latest killing took place at Okobotuo, near Akassa in the Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa early on Thursday.

    The victim of the attack was identified as the former chairman of the Akassa Unit of the Nigerian Maritime Workers Union.

    His name was given simply as Mr Suku.

    Confirming the development, the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Chapter of the Nigerian Maritime Workers Union, Mr Lloyd Sese, said the deadly attacks were crippling economic activities in coastal communities in the state.

    He described the death of the former union leader as regrettable and a painful loss to the labour movement in Bayelsa.

    Sese pleaded with security agencies to intensify security patrol on waterways to check the recurring killings.

    A source, who claimed to have witnessed the latest killing, said the assassins shot sporadically to scare away onlookers before killing Suku.

    The source, who pleaded, anonymity said that the killers did not collect anything from the victim after the killing.

    On December 14, the commissioner of police in Bayelsa announced that the command had taken steps to ensure the safety of citizens, following frequent killing of residents of the state.

    No fewer than five people have been shot dead in Bayelsa in recent weeks, according to records.

    A female journalist survived an armed robbery attack in Yenagoa a few days ago.

    Bayelsa, which is rich in oil and gas, has been a hotbed of militancy and abductions of mainly oil workers for decades.

  • Scores feared killed as illegal refinery explodes in Bayelsa

    Scores feared killed as illegal refinery explodes in Bayelsa

    An illegal refinery camp at Kolo Creek, Ogbia Local Government of Bayelsa State, has exploded.

    Many people were feared killed.

    The Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Delta Safe (ODS) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the security outfits in charge of checking illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism and illegal refineries, were alleged to have known about the camp, but refused to stop its operation.

    While some sources said 15 persons were killed, others claimed the dead were more than 20.

    The Nation learnt that tragedy struck in the camp, located at the creeks of Ebelebiri and Otuogwe, when it exploded on December 5 and went up in flames.

    The fire was said to have spread, killing everybody in the camp, except three persons, who escaped with severe burns.

    Sources said an attempt by a woman in the camp to cook noodles, using a stove, caused the explosion.

    Charred remains of the victims reportedly littered the area.

    A source, who visited the scene, described it as tragic.

    He said: “When we got there, I almost vomited. I saw charred remains of people. They were burnt beyond recognition. In some cases, you could only see heads and feet of victims. Despite the burnt bodies, we still met people illegally refining crude.

    “We thought security agents, especially soldiers, would have taken over the place. But we didn’t see any security operative. We only saw people who were still refining illegally bunkered oil. It was terrible.”

    It was gathered that the camp, said to be owned by a cartel, had been in existence for long.

    It was alleged that there was a conspiracy between the owners of the camp and security operatives.

    Investigation showed that the police command had earlier appealed to security agencies in charge of oil theft, especially NSCDC and JTF, to storm the site and arrest operators.

    Spokesman Butswat Asinim confirmed the explosion. But he said few persons died and others were injured.

    He, however, refused to confirm a letter from the police commissioner to other security commanders about the existence of the camp, before the explosion.

    Asinim said: “There was a fire outbreak at an illegal bunkering camp at Ebelebiri and Otuegwe II community. Few people were feared to have been burnt to death, while others sustained severe burns.

    “Three persons who survived the inferno were taken to Cottage Hospital, Otuasiga. They are Timi Gaji, male, 21, from Southern Ijaw; Benjamin Theophilus, male, 20, from Elebele community and James Meshack, 21, from Delta State, but lives at Igbogene.”

  • One dies in Bayelsa auto crash

    One dies in Bayelsa auto crash

    The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps ( FRSC ) in Bayelsa, Mr Ikechukwu Igwe, said on Tuesday that a middle-aged woman had died and more than five persons were injured in an accident in Yenagoa.

    Igwe confirmed this in an interview in Yenago

    The incident involved a tipper lorry and a Toyota bus which collided at the Swali Market.

    Igwe said the accident was caused by reckless driving, saying the corpse of the deceased had been deposited at the mortuary of a hospital in the state.

    “Those who sustained injuries, including the affected drivers of the tipper and bus, are receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital in the state capital.

    “The incident was unfortunate; the FRSC is warning roadside traders in the state to stay off the road; stop spilling trading activities to the road because our personnel will not take it lightly with anyone caught selling  wares on the roads.

    “We are going to mobilise our special marshals to monitor the Swali axis, especially the market area in order to curb roadside trading in the area.

    “The FRSC officers will work with the Bayelsa Government to ensure that all the roads blocked by traders in the state are reclaimed,” he said.

    NAN

  • Gunmen shoot female AIT reporter

    Gunmen shoot female AIT reporter

    Unknown gunmen have shot a reporter with the Africa Independent Television (AIT), Miss Owe Patience, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

    The victim was reportedly shot at close range along Edepie area by her assailants, who dispossessed her of her mobile phones, cash and other valuables.

    Owei, who covers the Government House, was attacked at about 10.30pm on Friday while returning home from a church service, Shilloh 2017, organised by the Living Faith Church also known as Winners Chapel,.

    It was learnt that the suspected armed robbers shot her in the back after collecting her phones and handbag, leaving her in the pool of her blood.

    It was gathered that she was unconscious and in a critical condition.

    Some journalists and members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), who visited her at the State Government House hospital, where she was rushed to for treatment lamented her condition saying she could not talk.

    A Good Samaritan, who rushed her to the hospital, narrated how the journalist was shot.

    The source, who identified himself as Bokoru said: “Last night (Friday night) at about 10:40pm, I had an urgent call from James Baridi a few metres from my house. When I went it was the fresh scene of a rather violent robbery.

    “A girl I would later identity as an AIT staff was laying half-conscious in a pool of her blood. Witnesses said it was a lone gunman who had trailed her from Shiloh.

    “Just in front of her house he showed her the gun, took her phone, jewellery and cash. But the animal didn’t end there. He took steps backwards and shot her at close range even as she gave him no problems.

    “Her landlady, James and I rushed her to Tobis Hospital at Akenfa. To our surprise … They would not save her life except we provide a police report and a wholesome amount.

    “We took her to another hospital at Igbogene, the people here were humans and they commenced treatment instantly including fresh pounds of blood.

    “By morning we realised we needed to contact her family, but how? She lives alone and her phones were gone. In the area no one knows much about her except that she’s a journalist for AIT. We also reported the matter to the Akenfa police division

    “For a start, I called NUJ Bayelsa scribe Ebiowei Lawal who called her office. It’s been a very long day. Patience Owe will make it and we have God to thank. Our prayers will remain with her”.

    The Police Public Relations Officer, Asinim Butswat, confirmed the development and said the police were investigating.

  • Bayelsa says it’s committed to sports devt

    The Bayelsa Government is committed to developing the potentials of the state’s sports men and women as part of efforts to rebuild sports in the state, an official has said.

    The State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, expressed the commitment Friday in Yenagoa during a courtesy visit by officials of Bayelsa chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN).

    “It is in realisation of this objective that the state government embarked on the improvement of sports facilities to encourage sports men and women in achieving their maximum potentials,’’ he said.

    The commissioner described sports as “big business’’ and called for more collaboration between the state government and SWAN to accelerate growth in the sports sector in the state.

    He said such development and collaboration would go a long way to encourage talented youths and enable them excel in national and international events.

    “We have been pushing forward to ensure an improvement of facilities, while the state sports academy has come to stay.

    “Academic activities have started, with the students on ground. We are doing this because sports is a big business.

    “The reconstruction work at the Samson Siasia Stadium in Yenagoa is getting to completion stage and I believe by Feb. 14, the stadium will be commissioned as part of events marking the sixth year anniversary of the present government,” Iworiso-Markson said.

    The Commissioner however applauded Bayelsa SWAN’s planned effort to hold the maiden edition of Clinton Thompson Football Competition in the state, describing it as a welcome development.

    The competition fixed for Dec. 18 is being organised by Bayelsa SWAN to immortalise the late sports journalist who died earlier this year.

    The late Thompson, who was a veteran reporter and the pioneer President of SWAN South-South Zone, was at a time the General Manager of Radio Bayelsa, Glory FM 97.1.

    Alambo Datonye, the state SWAN Chairman, said the competition which would involve practising journalists in Bayelsa, was aimed at encouraging physical fitness and mental alertness of media practitioners through sports.

    He said the Association was ready to work with the state government to encourage athletes in the state, especially from the grassroots level.

    “We organised a six-kilometre road race earlier this year and that competition was successful. We are not going to stop, because sports is a veritable tool we and the present government can use to rebrand the state.

    “There are talented youths in Bayelsa. These talents can be groomed and promoted to the highest level in areas of sports,” the chairman said.

    NAN

  • 1,070 Nigerians died in road accidents – NBS

    1,070 Nigerians died in road accidents – NBS

    The National Bureau of Statistics ( NBS ) said on Wednesday  that at least 1,070 Nigerians died in road accidents in the third quarter of this year.

    The NBS Road Transport Data for Third Quarter, 2017 posted on its website on Wednesday showed that 89 out of the victims were children.

    The report stated that 981 of the 1,070 Nigerians that died, representing 91.7 per cent of the figure were adults while the remaining 89 Nigerians, representing 8.3 per cent of the figure were children.

    The breakdown of the figure showed that 815 of the number were males, representing 76.2 per cent while 255 were females, representing 23.8 per cent.

    According to the report, 2,478 road accidents occurred in the third quarter.

    It, however, attributed the major cause of accidents to speed violation, which it said accounted for 44.51 per cent of the total accidents reported in the quarter.

    It stated that loss of control and dangerous driving followed closely as they both accounted for 10.41 per cent and 9.52 per cent of the total accident recorded respectively.

    Meanwhile, the report stated that a total of 6,803 Nigerians got injured in the accidents.

    Read also: Nigeria’s population hits 193.3m, says NBS report

    It stated that 6,419 of the 6,803 Nigerians that got injured, representing 94.4 per cent of the figure were adults while the remaining 384 Nigerians, representing 5.7 per cent of the figure were children.

    It further stated that 5,110 male Nigerians, representing 75 per cent, got injured in road accidents in the quarter while 1,693 female Nigerians, representing 25 per cent got injured.

    According to the report, estimated vehicle population in Nigeria as at third quarter was put at 11,547,236 with the total population of the country puts at 193.3 million in 2016.

    It stated Nigeria s vehicle per population ratio was put 0.06

    In addition, it stated that data on the category of vehicles involved in road accident reflected that 58 per cent of vehicles were commercial (2,000), 40.6 per cent were private (1,401), 1.4 per cent were government (48) and the remaining were diplomat (0).

    It stated that FCT recorded the highest number of road crashes in the quarter, closely followed by Kaduna and Kogi States while Borno and Bayelsa States recorded the least.

    The report stated that 200,565 national driver’s licenses were produced in the period under review.

    It stated that Lagos and FCT produced the highest number of driver’s licenses while Zamfara and Kebbi produced the least numbers of national driver’s license.

    Similarly, it stated that 75,958 vehicle number plates were produced in the quarter.

    It also stated that Delta and FCT produced the highest number of vehicle plate numbers while Ekiti and Rivers produced the least numbers of vehicle plate numbers in the quarter.

    NAN

  • NYSC DG warns corps members against travelling

    NYSC DG warns corps members against travelling

    Brig.-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, the Director-General, National Youths Service Corps ( NYSC ), on Tuesday, advised corps members to desist from unnecessary and unauthorised travelling.

    Kazaure gave the advice during facility tour at the Temporary Orientation Camp, Kaiama, Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa.

    The director-general said the visit and inspection of the camp was part of his 2017 camp tour to assess corps members’ comfort and security.

    Represented by the NYSC Director, Audit, Mr Adeleke Abiodun, the director-generalsaid many corps members had died in auto crash in journeys which they embarked  upon without permit during their service year.

    Kazaure insisted that obtaining proper permission would do the corps members more good before travelling out of their duty post.

    He added that “before embarking on any journey while in camp or places of your primary assignment, NYSC members should obtain permission because there are sanctions for not doing so.

    “Members should only travel when it is necessary and approved; my visit to the camp here in Bayelsa is to see the condition of corps members.

    “I am assuring corps members, not only in Bayelsa but across the country, that the management of the scheme and state governments are fully committed to their welfare.”

    The NYSC boss also urged them to respect the religions and cultures of their host communities, saying “I also believe that you have been taught on the ways of life, custom and values of your host state.

    “I urge you to respect them, be security conscious and don’t just pack your bag and start to travel up and down.

    “Find a way to contribute your quota to building a better Nigeria; always pay attention to the skill acquisition programmes in camp and ensure that your life after service is better.”

    Read also: NYSC to corps members: Shun acts inimical to culture of host communities

    The NYSC Coordinator in the state, Mrs Loto Bolade, commended the director-general for the visit, adding that corps members were dedicated to serve their fatherland.

    Bolade said that the orientation in the state had been hitch-free since the camp formerly opened on November 21.

    She added that “I must say that this Unique Batch of the scheme has been dedicated to camp activities and I am very sure they are going to surpass their colleague’s achievement when they are posted to their host communities.”

    Bolade, however, said that the camp was a temporary facility, noting that “it has limited amenities, facilities and water-logged environment due to the terrain of the state.”

    NAN