Five arrested, As Thugs attack Bayelsa Speaker Southern ijaw house

Five Arrested, As Thugs Attack Bayelsa Speaker’s Southern Ijaw


The Korokorosei country home of the Speaker of Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Konbowei Benson, in Southern
Ijaw Local Government Area of the state, was on Thursday attacked by unknown persons suspected to be political
thugs.
The attackers, who wore masks, were said to have invaded Benson’s palatial building with an improvised explosive
suspected to be dynamite.

The incident is one of the series of election-related violence
and attacks allegedly carried out by suspected loyalists of the
PDP and the APC ahead of Saturday’s supplementary
governorship election in Southern Ijaw and 101 polling units
across the state.

It was however gathered that no casualty was recorded in the
attack which took place at 4am Thursday as the Speaker’s
family were still in the state capital.
But the explosion was said to have caused huge damage to
the building.
Benson confirmed the attack on his country home and accused
the APC of masterminding the attack on his house.
“I was asleep in my house here in Yenagoa and around 4am,
my wife’s phone rang and a message was sent to us that they
have gone to dynamite my house.
“It is not something unexpected because they have always been promising to attack, to kill or assassinate me or my
family members.
“During the last election, about 14 persons from my community and family members were kidnapped and taken to
Olugbobiri (also in Southern Ijaw) and assaulted.
“They have decided this time again to do the worse and they have started with my building. They went there and
planted dynamite and then it was a big explosion and a lot of places in the building got damaged”,he narrated.


Meanwhile, the police in Bayelsa State have arrested five male suspects in a hotel premises in Swali axis of Yenagoa,
the state capital.
Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, Asinim Butswat, said in a statement that the five suspects were
apprehended following a tip-off by detectives attached to the anti-kidnapping and anti-vice units of the police.
He gave the identities of the suspects as Asupha Emeka, 34, Ebipre Ebebi 25, Samuel Joe, 27, Okilo Matthew, 25, and
Timiere Matthew, also aged 25.
He said the hoodlums were designing a plot to attack an unknown location, adding that they were being questioned
in police custody.

“The suspects were drawing a plan to launch an attack on a yet to-be-identified location. They are currently
undergoing interrogation. Investigation is ongoing”, he said.

Daily Independent

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