Bayelsa guber polls: Eight persons killed in electoral violence; Gov. Dickson accuses APC

At least eight persons have been killed in various localities in Bayelsa State where loyalists of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and All Progressives Congress, APC, clashed.

Although the identities of the killed party supporters are yet to be known, Governor Seriake Dickson has condemned the attacks and described them as pre-meditated violence unleashed by the opposition against his supporters.

Dickson, who condemned the attacks in his community, Toru Orua, shortly after his accreditation, accused the Minister of State, Heinekein Lokpobiri of being the mastermind of the violence in Ekeremor.

Governor Dickson, while speaking in his community said, “I have received a disturbing reports of premeditated brutal attacks on my party supporters in Twon Brass and in Ekeremor leading to the death of one person.”

Reports available to our correspondent indicate that three persons were hacked down in Oporoama, Southern Ijaw; one person in Ekeremor and four in Nembe community off the atlantic ocean area of Bayelsa state.

Dickson who was accredited at 10.38am alongside his wife and mother accused the APC of not preparing for the election, but for total war, stressing that at the appropriate time the party would take legal action.

“We are taking stock of all of these mayhem and we hope and expect that an appropriate legal action will be taken against these notorious criminals who are unleashing terror and mayhem on innocent persons.”

He called on the security agencies to step up their dragnet and arrest those involve in the crimes.

Police authorities in Yenagoa had confirmed the recovery of a huge cache of arms and ammunitions from some suspected gun runners in the state.

Commissioner of Police, Nasiru Oki confirmed this while reacting to the recent shootings at Okpoama in Brass and in Southern Ijaw parts of the State on the eve of the poll and on Saturday morning.

Oki did not mention how many persons were arrested or their identities, but insisted that some suspect had been arrested in connection with the shootings

Residents of Brass communities heard heavy gun shots released by hired gunmen to scare away voters and some persons sustained injuries.