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The battle for the seat of Bayelsa West Senatorial District took another fiery
dimension as Tribunal Staff were beaten up in Yenagoa
The incident took place at the New High Court premises Saturday evening when
the Election Tribunal staffers were collating documents from aggrieved politicians
in preparation for the commencement of seating.
Supporters of the PDP Candidate, Hon. Heineken Lokpobiri, allegedly stormed
the tribunal venue in the New High Court premises when the LP candidate, Mr.
Premobowei Ebebi, was submitting his petitions to members of the tribunal
staff, two ladies, who were collecting the petitions from Politicians that had
complaints during the elections.
Eye-witnesses said the Senator and others stormed the place and allegedly
molested the two ladies who were the tribunal staff, carted away their bags,
some documents already submitted by Ebebi the LP candidate, and beat up
Hon. Angus Dide, a Law Maker in the state Assembly who is also a Candidate of
the LP for Ekeremo Constituency ii in the last elections.
Eye-witnesses’ accounts had it that the Senator and the youths that perpetrated
the act were led into the Court premises by members of Famotamgbei, a
Security outfit, who looked the other side when the act was being carried out.
Inside the court wall were blood-stained floor, broken table, torn shirt of Dide
who also sustained injury on one of his eyes.
“We came here to file a petition on the West Senatorial election, but Lokpobiri
and his grop beat me up, almost blind my eye. Look at my blood everywhere on
the floor,” lamented Dide who is the Minority Leader of the State House of
Assembly.
He said the police were alerted on the impending attack but nothing was done.
“We were informed of the planned attack. We informed the police but nothing
was done,” decried the lawmaker whose shirt was torn and his phone taken
away.
“Senator Lokpobiri led the group, they took away the petition submitted by
Ebebi, and they took away bags and money belonging to the tribunal staff. His
younger brother was pointing a pistol at me,” he added and appealed to the
INEC authorities and security agencies to intervene.
Also commenting in the same vein, embattled Deputy Governor Ebebi said, “you
have seen what the Senator has done again, taking away the petitions I have
submitted to the tribunal. I am calling on the Prof. Atahiru-led INEC to prosecute
Senator Lokpobiri for electoral offences.
“Must we take laws into our hands by going into a tribunal office and molest the
staff and cart away petitions submitted by me and other politicians? this is too
bad, he is still perpetrating violence,” Ebebi lamented.
When contacted, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri who denied all the allegations,
said he was in Abuja and expressed surprise over the allegations by the Labour
Party members.
He said he was a law-abiding citizen and would have nothing to do with violent
acts.
For now, about a dozen police vans with armed police men from B-ups had
taken over the High Court premises in Yenagoa.
But when contacted, the Command’s PPRO, ASP Emokpae Egwavon, said he had
not been briefed on the incident which occurred about 200 meters away from
the police headquarters in Yenagoa.