The Bayelsa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to invite the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, for questioning concerning the invasion and killing of residents of Opu-Nembe in the Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The PDP has accused the former minister, who is the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, of being behind the attack.
The party said the leadership of the APC and its candidate in the state launched the attack because the community rejected Sylva.
At a news conference on Tuesday, OsunDailyNG gathered that the PDP alleged that the motive of the APC and its candidate is to put fear in people of the community with the attack so they won’t turn out for the November 11 polls.
The party noted that“The PDP in the strongest term condemns the invasion, killing, and maiming of innocent citizens in Bayelsa State communities, particularly Opu-Nembe in Nembe Local Government Area by thugs allegedly recruited, sponsored, and armed by Chief Timipre Sylva.
“The PDP is alarmed by pictorial and video evidence of the gruesome murder of promising Nembe youths, including the only son of a widow, by the APC thugs allegedly led by one Kojo Sam, who on February 15, 2023, killed three youths in the bid to subdue the community for openly expressing their rejection of Chief Sylva for neglecting and allegedly unleashing violence on their communities over the years.
“Reports in the public domain have it that the thugs are usually lodged in a hotel allegedly owned by Chief Timipre Sylva’s ally from where the assailants periodically launch gun attacks on the communities for rejecting the APC.
“Nigerians have already seen the videos of Opu-Nembe women crying, protesting the invasion and killings in the community by the thugs while insisting on their resolve not to support Chief Timipre Sylva for allegedly unleashing terror on their community at every election circle.”
The PDP further alluded that violence has been a pattern of Sylva during electioneering periods citing an instance in 2019 of how the former minister allegedly attacked the same community.
“We ask, what manner of desperation will lead an individual to resort to killing his kinsmen for rejecting him and his bid for an illusory political ambition?
“The PDP is gravely disturbed by the reported connivance of certain security operatives in these attacks on Nembe. Of particular concern is the report that these thugs adorn military attires to carry out their evil deeds, as evidenced in the video of one of the thugs, Telimoye Awululu, who was captured wearing a military uniform.
“There are already allegations in the public space that some high-ranking police personnel are aiding this reprehensible scheme to use violence to forcefully gain control of Opu-Nembe to grant the APC the ground to massively rig the November 11, 2023 governorship election in the area,” the party observed.
