The day has finally come for the people of Bayelsa State to elect their next governor. There is, no doubt, excitement in the air. The buildup to the election has been characterised by intrigues, political manoeuvrings and surprises. Everybody appeared to have been involved in the processes leading to today’s election.
The election is, perhaps, the first competitive poll in the history of democracy in the state. The era of carry-go has virtually ebbed away with the emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a party likely to end over 16 years of domineering politics of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
But it is with mixed feelings that the people will approach today’s election. Many are scared that the election could be marred by violence and bloodshed. Most people fear that supporters of the PDP and the APC, the two giants in the electoral contest, may clash. Others are also afraid of the re-enactment of the pogroms that characterised the Rivers State election earlier in the year.
Many factors account for such fears. The first is the skirmishes and killings that have so far been recorded in the state ahead of the poll. Prior to today’s election, there had been accusations and counter accusations of violence between the PDP and the APC.
While the PDP first brought the issues of violence to the front burner and freely accused the APC of planning to unleash violence on the people, the APC has been mainly at the receiving end of violence, recording more casualties than the PDP.
As tension mounted and fears deepened, the peace in the state became threatened and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies decided to check the excesses of politicians.
They came to Yenagoa, the state capital, and compelled all the parties in the election, including the major candidates, Chief Timipre Sylva (APC) and the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson (PDP), to sign a peace accord.
But shortly after the ceremonial signing of the peace accord, violence escalated. The APC raised the alarm over alleged attacks on its members at communities in Ekeremor and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas of the state by thugs it identified as members of the PDP.
The party, in a statement signed by the Sylva/Igiri Campaign Organisation (SICO), said the wave of attacks sweeping across the state left one of its members, Mr. Andrew June, dead. SICO’s Director, Media and Publicity, Chief Nathan Egba, said June was murdered at Oweigbene community in Ekeremor when suspected PDP thugs ambushed members of the APC.
Egba said the thugs also went on the rampage in Otuan community ward 5 in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, destroying buildings belonging to APC members and all other APC campaign banners and billboards. He said the destruction was carried out as part of preparations for the visit of the PDP candidate and the Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, for his campaign rally.
He said: “This unwarranted attack is coming on the heels of warning by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, to deal with anyone who perpetrates violence and violates electoral laws during the elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
“Mr. Andrew June, an APC stalwart in Oweigbene community, was murdered by a mob of PDP supporters alleged to have been sponsored by a PDP chieftain.
“The deceased June and several APC supporters who sustained various degrees of injuries as a result of the attack were ambushed at Toru-gbene community en route Oweigbene after the APC rally in Ekeremor town, Ekeremor Local Government Area on Wednesday, 18th November, 2015.
“The deceased and other APC supporters sustained injuries from matchete cuts and were rushed to Ojobo General Hospital in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, where Mr. June later died.
“We call on Governor Seriake Dickson to respect the peace accord he signed by calling his supporters to order to avoid further bloodshed. Bayelsans could now confirm the party and candidate that is violent and desperate to use force in a bid to win the election at all cost.”
But the PDP said the APC members first started the fight that led to the death of June. The party also alleged that the APC members later carried out a reprisal in Oweigbene that led to the destruction of property worth millions of naira and five buildings belonging to its members.
The Director of Publicity, Restoration Campaign Organisation (RCO), Jonathan Obuebite, said: “The APC members drew the first blood as they attacked PDP members with cutlass, cudgel and other dangerous weapons.
“During the fracas that lasted for close to one hour, the deceased and three other people from both camps sustained injuries and were rushed to a clinic in Ojobo, Delta State.
“Andrew June did not die at the spot of the incident as reported by some national dailies. He died four hours later after forcibly discharging himself from the clinic where he was receiving treatment,” he stated.
Bloody setting
However, the painful reality is that the process leading to today’s election has already been stained by the blood of June, an APC stalwart. His death must have sent shock waves down the spines of many eligible voters in today’s election. The police arrested some PDP members fingered in the dastardly act and invited other party leaders for interrogation. Even Dickson condemned the death of June and sued for peace.
Shortly after the killing of June, the PDP alleged that its members were attacked and injured by APC supporters in Yenagoa. Both parties have also raised the alarm over the destruction of their campaign materials in the state.
Involvement of ex-militants
The poll has no doubt divided former creek warriors. While most of them have pitched their tents with Sylva, others have decided to follow Dickson. The situation became more worrisome when an unrepentant militant group, the Movement for Emancipation Niger Delta (MEND), jumped into the fray. Curiously, the group reportedly warned President Muhammadu Buhari against any move to rig the Bayelsa election.
The militants warned that any attempt to rig the election would re-awake “a sleeping dog”. MEND even said it would dispatch 500 members to monitor the exercise, particularly in the creeks.
The militants also declared their support for PDP and Dickson. The group’s position was reportedly contained in a statement signed by an ex-militant leader who claimed to be the Acting Chairman of MEND, Prince Amaibi Horby (aka General Busta Rhymes) and 12 others.
But there was confusion. MEND, in its conventional way of trasmitting information, denounced the report. The militant group said the governor was desperate and decided to use its name to hoodwink members of the public. It disowned the author of the statement and said it would never support the aspirations of Dickson.
MEND in a counter-statement signed by Gbomo Jomo, said: “The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) wishes to dissociate itself from an imposter and self-acclaimed “Acting Chairman” of MEND, going by the name of ‘Prince Amaibi Horby (aka General Busta Rhymes)’ who claims to be speaking for MEND by endorsing Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State for the December 05, 2015 governosrship elections.
“This so-called support and endorsement was circulated in some sections of the media on Monday, 23 November 2015.
“MEND wishes to state categorically that we do not endorse or support Governor Seriake Dickson in any way, shape or form and strongly urges the media to disregard any such statements to the contrary, as it did not emanate from MEND.
“As far as we know, Governor Seriake Dickson, in his desperation to be re-elected as Governor of Bayelsa State, has paid a group of thugs to use our group’s name to endorse his ambition.”
The tension escalated when two popular ex-militant leaders threw tantrums at each other over the December poll. An ex-militant commander, Africanus Ukparasia, popularly called ‘General’ Africa, attacked Government Ekpemupolo, famously called ‘General’ Tompolo.
Africa warned Tompolo against meddling in the Bayelsa election. He asked Delta State-born ex-militant leader to steer clear of Bayelsa politics and election. He alleged that there were reports of plans by Tompolo to interfere in the December 5 governorship election in the state. Africa, however, failed to provide further evidence of the alleged plot.
He only said intelligence report at the disposal of ex-warlords in the state indicated that Tompolo had allegedly set in motion a strike squad to attack parts of Bayelsa.
He alleged that the strike force had been told to hijack election materials and use them to rig for a particular candidate. Africa also recalled that in the past, Tompolo attacked parts of the state.
He noted that Tompolo attacked the Government jetty area of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, and attempted to proceed to bomb Government House before they were repelled by the military. He said the attack took place on April 20, 2007.
He also alleged that Tompolo’s foot soldiers attacked and destroyed the home of former President Goodluck Jonathan on May 17, 2007. According to him Tompolo sent some of his boys in the state to disrupt the recent All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election in Bayelsa.
Africa said that three of those boys were arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS) in a hotel in Yenagoa. The ex-militant leader cautioned his colleagues in Delta State, saying that the purpose of their agitation was not to attack sister states and communities.
He warned that he (Africa) also had the capacity to interfere in the politics of Delta State if Tompolo would not desist from such meddlesomeness.
He threatened dire consequences if Tompolo attempted to attack Bayelsa State before, during and after the December 5 governorship poll.
Africa called on the police, the DSS and all other security agencies to place Tompolo under security watch to avert any conflict.
But in a swift reaction, Tompolo, who spoke through his Media Adviser, Paul Bebenimibo, said Africa was talking rubbish and made no sense.
Bebenimibo questioned Africa’s relationship with Bayelsa and wondered why he should make a wild, unsubstantiated and spurious allegations against his principal, whom he described as a peaceful man.
He said: “Who is Africa? What are his roles in Bayelsa election? Is he a contestant in the election? Is he a Federal Government, police, DSS, military or what?
“Who is he to get a report about High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo)? As far as we are concerned, we do not understand what he is saying. He is not making any sense at all.
“My boss has nothing to do with Bayelsa election. We do not know his (Africa) relationship with Bayelsa election and for such a person to allege that Tompolo is planning to disrupt Bayelsa poll is senseless, unfortunate and unthinkable. The allegation does not make any sense to us.”
Also, in Sylva’s camp are notable ex-militant leaders and their lieutenants. Eris Paul, popularly known as ‘General’ Ogunboss, Ebikabowei Victor-Ben, famously called Boyloaf, Africa and many others have queued behind Sylva. Apart from two ex-militant leaders, who are sympathetic to Dickson, others especially from Southern Ijaw Local Government, the home of most ex-creek commanders, are all working for Sylva.
In fact, security agencies in the state are worried over the overtures of ex-militant leaders in the forthcoming election, especially the threats to the peace emanating from the two camps. A top official of the Department of State Security (DSS) said they were not treating the threats with kid gloves.
“We have beamed our searchlight on the ex-militant leaders. We are monitoring their activities because we won’t allow anybody to forment trouble, before, during and after the election”, he said.
The official who spoke in confidence said the former agitators should not be addressed as ex-militants but should be viewed as ordinary members of the public because of the amnesty granted them. He said they have the right to participate actively in politics and to support any candidate of their choice.
He said: “Ex-militants have been granted amnesty. So, they are normal citizens. We should not see them as ex-militants but as normal citizens. They have the right to make statements supporting any candidate of their choice. But what we cannot allow is if they want to use violence to support their candidates.
“We are also investigating the allegations made by Africa. Tompolo was accused of trying to deploy his boys to the waterways to protect a particular candidate. So far, we have not got any concrete evidence. But we are still investigating. We are not leaving anything to chance.”
Difficult terrains and flashpoints
Conducting elections in Bayelsa is not a tea party. The state is waterlogged. Many voting points are located in the creeks and across waterways. Most of the eight local government areas could only be accessed through the waterways. Southern Ijaw, for instance, is far-flung with some communities on the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean. Ekeremor is also difficult to navigate, just like Brass and Nembe, which are notorious for piracy and kidnapping.
The difficult terrain most times makes it easy for people to perpetrate violence unchallenged. There are also violent-prone areas such as Nembe, Brass, Southern Ijaw and Ekeremor. Already, violence appears to be sweeping across Nembe.
On Wednesday, a stalwart of APC in the state, Chief Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, lamented security threats in Bassambiri community, in Nembe. He condemned the spate of violence suspected to be perpetrated by some members of PDP.
According to him some APC members were seriously wounded when they were recently attacked in the community. He said the attack led to the disappearance of one Mr. Iwokurah Ogbofagha.
The party leader said Ogbofagha who has six children and a pregnant wife may have died in the violence. Degi-Eremienyo called on security agencies to investigate the situation in Nembe (Bassambiri) and bring those behind the crime to book.
He further challenged the security agencies to investigate and forestall any plans to disrupt voting during the December 5, governorship election in the community as Bassambiri.
Security agencies roll out plans
The police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) seem determined to deal with issues of violence in the election. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, was personally in the state to boost the morale of his men and officers. He said the police were ready to ensure a violence-free poll, adding that the police remains apolitical.
He said: “We are very ready. We did a similar thing two weeks ago in Kogi State and we are prepared to replicate it again in Bayelsa. We are going to be deploying 14000 officers and men in the eight local government areas.
“We are going to dominate the security space. We are going to have aerial surveillance. We will lock down the waterways. A DIG is supposed to come and supervise the elections here with three additional commissioners.
“It will not be possible for you to bring in fake policemen because we have a unique identity for each of the policeman we are going to deploy for the election. So, anybody who has invested in trying to get uniform, it is a bad investment.
“The police is apolitical. We are not a political party. The police job is to guarantee a robust security to allow people to vote freely and fairly in the election.
Addressing his men at the command, the IG asked them to be of good conduct and shun inducements during the poll. He said any policeman caught compromising standards of best practice would be putting his career on the line.
Also, the NSCDC said it would deploy 5000 personnel to provide security for the governorship election. The Commandant, NSCDC, Bayelsa State, Mr. Desmond Agu, said the operatives would be sent to all the nooks and crannies of the state, including the coastal areas to ensure a hitch-free exercise.
Briefing his men at the command’s headquarters, Yenagoa, Agu warned them against compromising the standard of the corps and vowed to derobe and prosecute any corrupt officer.
Addressing them, he said: “You are not politicians and you will never be politicians unless you retire and remove your redneck uniform. And let me sound it as a warning, not advice, I have been directed by the Commandant-General, NSCDC, to warn any officer who compromises and make himself available for politicians to use.
“Such compromised officer should remove his uniform and surrender himself to the intelligence department. It is not only surrendering yourself to the intelligence department for detention but for prosecution for destroying the image of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
“Make sure you are neutral in all the places you are going to be deployed. Don’t attach yourself to any politician or go outside there to compromise. Remember our motto is integrity, humility, safe service delivery.”
Agu said the 5000 operatives were sourced from different state commands, adding that all the logistics for effective monitoring and patrol had been made available by the commandant-general.
He asked his men not to worry about their welfare as the commandant-general was prepared to cater for them.
He said to them: “You are going to work with the police and other security agencies. Work as a team and be your brother’s keeper. I am not deploying you over there to go and die. I am deploying you to go and do your job and to come back alive.
“I have never lost any soul since I assumed office here in 2012 and never lose any soul by the gun. You will never die by the gun. You are there to exercise your civic duty, so don’t be afraid.
He said the uniform of each operative would be tagged to check allegations that some persons had sewn fake uniforms to rig the election.
