Ahead of the Nov. 11 governorship election in Bayelsa, traditional rulers in three council areas of the state on Thursday appealed to security agencies to prepare for possible violence in their domains.
The traditional rulers told a news conference in Yenagoa that historically, political gladiators stoked violence at flashpoints in Nembe, Brass, Ekeremor and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas of Bayelsa at every election cycle.
They implored security agents deployed in Bayelsa to protect the people from anticipated attacks before, during and after the governorship election.
Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council, King Bubaraye Dakolo, said the traditional rulers had gathered intelligence reports about plans to unleash violence ahead of the election.
Dakolo, ruler of Ekpetiama Kingdom, charged security agencies to reassure the people of Bayelsa that there would not be spilling of blood before, during and after the election.
He said it had become worrisome that some politicians were bent on destroying the peace that had been prevalent in the state in the last three years.
“The attention of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council has been drawn to recent violent incidents in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa.
“On Saturday, Aug. 12, the peace which Nembe had enjoyed for a reasonable while was breached in the most unfortunate manner.
“The breach created serious sense of insecurity, panic and fear in the town; in the local government area and in the state in general.
“Looking back at precedence, it could be inferred that the attack on the community is not unconnected with the upcoming November 11 gubernatorial election.
“We do not think that security agencies should allow political actors to violate the laws of the land and walk away free in the name of politics.
“Unfortunately, we have seen similar acts of violence meted to Bayelsa in previous election seasons and the perpetrators walked away free. We hope it does not repeat this season,’’ Dakolo said.
The traditional rulers insisted that all law-breakers must be brought to book, irrespective of status.
“Politicians must know that election is not war. They do not need to spill anybody’s blood for electoral advantage.
“We strongly believe that it is time to stop handling the tormentors of Nembe people with kid gloves. We cannot afford to lose lives every season.
“There is also a high level of apprehension that there would be an outbreak of politically-orchestrated violence in Southern Ijaw, Ekeremor and Brass in a short while,’’ Dakolo told newsmen. (NAN)
