Tension has reportedly gripped Bayelsa, following the killing of Diseye Dickson, the deputy ward chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ward 1 in Odi, Kolokuma-Opokuma council area of the state.
The APC henchman was reportedly killed by some unidentified gunmen at about 11pm on Wednesday, December 2.
Dickson was reportedly shot dead at Odi community by gunmen clad in military uniform.
A source from the community told The Vanguard that: “It was the 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.”
Further revelations inform that aside from the deceased, a mid-aged woman was also injured in the buttocks by a stray bullet.
The gunmen who were allegedly eight in number, attempted to kidnap Chief Watson Ogoriba, a businessman and elder brother of Hon Warman Ogoriba, former member of the Federal House of Representatives and chieftain of the APC.
Hon Douye Diri, a member of the Federal House of Representative representing Yenagoa-Kolokuma/Opokuma federal constituency, confirmed the incident.
Hon Diri affirmed that the ugly event was not a case of party feud, but a foiled attempt at kidnapping.
Contrary to the kidnap story, Chief Nathan Egba, spokesman of the APC in the state has alleged that the killing was carried out by suspected thugs hired by the PDP.
Egba who is the director of media and publicity for the Sylva/Igiri campaign organisation, said: “As at this morning, 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 macheted 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 has 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 APC spokesman concluded.
There has been so much drama in the build up to the Bayelsa guber polls, scheduled for Saturday, December 5, with various conspiracy theories filling the media.
Recently. the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accused the APC of planning to rig the election ” as it did in the November 21 Kogi governorship election”.
