The Government House photographer, Reginald Dei, who was allegedly shot by men in Army uniform in Oweikorogha, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, during the last Presidential and National Assembly elections has died.
A statement by the Director Corporate Communications, Governor’s Office, Chief Nathan Egba-Ologo, stated that the photographer died after battling to survive the lethal wounds from the gunshots in a Yenagoa hospital on Sunday night.
Dei was shot alongside the leader of the PDP in Oweikorogha community, Mr. Seidougha Taribi, while the duo were waiting for the outcome of the election in their ward at the politician’s residence.
While Dei who was initially taken for dead survived the attack until Sunday night, Taribi died on the spot.
Egba-Ologo called on the relevant security agencies to investigate the activities of the various security agencies in order to bring the culprits of the dastardly act to book.
He added that while the state was mourning the unfortunate murder of Taribi and Dei as a result of the brigandage that rocked the parts of the state during the Presidential election, thugs working for APC chieftains have been allowed to wreak havoc in Nembe Bassambiri.
He said further that the rampaging thugs have sacked the mobile policemen and the operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on deployment in the besieged community.
He lamented that the rampaging thugs have dug military fashion trenches in Bassambiri with barricades to harass PDP members in the community and prevent those who fled the community from returning.
He called on the leadership of the Nigerian Army and the other security agencies to prevent brigandage and a breakdown of law and order in the area ahead of the next elections.
He urged the security agencies to adhere strictly to their constitutional responsibility to ensure the provision of security and indeed the requisite environment in the next election.
Meanwhile, the Bayelsa State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dissociated itself from the electoral violence in Oweikorogha, Southern Ijaw Local Government Council of the state. Gunmen in military uniform were reported to have killed a leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the Presidential and National Assembly elections on 23 February 2019.
State Publicity Secretary of Bayelsa APC, Mr. Doifie Buokoribo, in a statement on Monday in Yenagoa dismissed insinuations by the state government and the PDP in Bayelsa State that Seidougha Taribi was a victim of violence perpetrated by APC supporters.
The APC challenged the picture painted by the Bayelsa State Government, saying nothing can be further from the truth.
The party condemns this unnecessary insult in Oweikorogha. APC is the victim, not the aggressor.
We call on the armed and security forces to restore law and order in Oweikorogha community. Our members and other peace-loving residents in Southern Ijaw need protection.
