Deputy Inspector-Gen
eral of Police in charge of security in the Bayelsa State governorship election, Hashimu Argungu, has warned that nobody should test the might of the security agencies.
Mr Argumgu gave thewarning yesterday morning on the heels of reported electoral violence recorded in some parts of the state including Brass, Ekeremor, Nembe and Southern Ijaw, during the voting exercise on Saturday.
In Southern Ijaw, sporadic shootings were said to have resulted in the death of about five persons while the house of Henikin Logbobiri, a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was said to have been touched.
Argungu, also warn Ed that any breach of the peace would be decisively dealt with as Nigeria was greater than any individual.
“Security agencies are ready and nobody should take us for granted”, he said.
“The country, Nigeria, is greater than any individual and nobody is above the law”, he further said.
The DIG, however, said the reported killing in Southern Ijaw could not be confirmed because the corpses of the victims and their particulars could not be traced.
“The report that some people were killed cannot be confirmed as corpses of the purported dead persons cannot traced and their particulars could not be obtained from any source.
“Information at my disposal is that there was no death in Southern Ijaw yesterday (Saturday”.
Argungu advised the people of Southern Ijaw, where the election continued on Sunday, not to nurse any fear as adequate security had been provided.
“All security agencies have their men on ground in Southern Ijaw and other few places where election could not take place yesterday.
“Restrictions of movement still stand in the affected areas where the election will hold”
“We have two Commissioners of Police, 2 Brigade Commander, 5 Battalion Commander and Deputy Commander of the NSCDC already on ground to ensure safety of lives and property in the area.
“Election must take place in this established enabling environment. Nobody should entertain fear as security is guaranteed”, Argungu meanwhile APC Campaign Organisation, has alleged that Governor Seriake Dickson, PDP’s candidate in the Bayelsa governorship election, forced his way into the INEC Yenagoa LGA Collation Centre Onopa, at about 11pm Saturday night and threatened to ‘deal seriously’ with agents of the APC, Chief Werinipre Seibarugu, former Deputy Governor and Mr. Fortune Panebi, State Publicity Secretary of the APC.
According the statement signed by the Director of Public of the campaign organisation Chief Nathan Egba, “The action of Dickson is clearly against the electoral law as he has no authority as a candidate to go to the Yenagoa Collation Centre, more so as he is not from the LGA.”
“The governor, who threatened to deal with the two APC agents, was at the collation centre to manipulate results being collated from different wards in Yenagoa.
The APC agents were said to have countered the moves by the PDP to manipulate the results that had been turned-in before some aides to the Governor alerted him of the developments at the Yenagoa Collation centre.”
“The APC decided to raise the alarm and place the information in the public domain as the Governor’s desperation in the face of imminent defeat is such that he is ready all electoral laws”, the Statement said.
