According to Ebikake, traditional rulers and indigenes of Opu-Nembe are being subjected to inhuman, gun-barrel politics, alleging that this is sponsored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and ex-minister, Timipre Sylva.
Ebikake, in the open letter, dated August 14, 2023, which was made available to journalists in Yenagoa, pointed out that whatever the pretext, the recurring armed invasion of Opu Nembe (Bassambiri) and random arrests of youths are not unconnected to Sylva’s desperate political ambition, which has tainted the political standard of the state.
The lawmaker’s letter was coming after hoodlums, armed with sophisticated weapons, on Monday, attacked journalists who had gone to the community for on-the-spot assessment of the situation.
She said: “With his supposed political sophistication, Timipre Sylva has, evidently, only perfected the use of federal connections to subjugate and dehumanise his kith and kin, hoping to flog them into line. This he has done since 2015 as he indicates his political interests in any contest.”
“Take the February 2019 National Assembly elections, for instance, for which he mobilised platoons of Nigerian soldiers for violent invasion of Opu Nembe (Bassambiri), forcing the opposition out of the community. A few lost their lives, while scores were injured.
“In the February 19, 2023 general elections, he again led a battalion of Nigerian soldiers to invade Idema, a quiet fishing town on the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean, to scare voters away, having a field day with the ballot boxes.
“But before the Idema attack, he masterminded an abortive attack on the eve of the February elections, targeted at the youth president and the assistant youth president of Opu Nembe, which, as was reflected in the outcome of the polls, negatively impacted his party.”
Rep petitions Tinubu as hoodlums attack journalists in Bayelsa community
Bola Ahmed Tinubu
