Published 11th Nov, 2023

By Opeyemi Lawal

One person has been killed in a violent clash between supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Famgbe, Bayelsa State, FIJ can confirm.

According to residents who spoke to FIJ anonymously, Ovie Ogbara, a younger brother to Benjamin Ogbara, a Bayelsa State House of Assembly aspirant under the APC in 2021, was one of those shot in the process.

The residents said that the shooting ensued after loyalists of the APC and PDP tried to scare each other away from polling units.

“One person has been shot dead in Famgbe community and accreditation is yet to start,” one of the residents told FIJ.

“The situation is very tense here. APC boys started shooting to scare PDP loyalists. PDP retaliated and both APC and PDP thugs are out to undo each other.

“Currently, both parties are blaming each other for the violence and everyone is just scared.”

Edeforo Mc Koboko Elijah, a Facebook user, said that there were reports that violence erupted when a yet-to-be-identified House of Representatives member was arrested by the police while on a visit to the community on Saturday morning.

He said youths in the community retaliated by rounding up officials of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting voting would not begin until he was released.

“I got here around 6:30 am. We heard the news that a House of Reps member visited this morning and was arrested by the police,” he wrote.

“Famgbe youths then had all INEC officials rounded up and said no voting would take place until the said man was released.

“There was lot of shooting, one down and the other in critical condition.

“With the help of the military in their large numbers, the INEC officials have been freed, and accreditation has now begun.”

One of the residents corroborated Elijah’s claim about the release of the INEC officials and told FIJ they were rescued by the military.

“But at the moment, the locked INEC officials have been rescued by the military and they are safe now,” the resident said.

FIJ couldn’t confirm at press time the identity of the arrested House of Representatives member.

When FIJ called CSP Asinim Butswat, the public relations officer of the Bayelsa State Police Command, to confirm the incident, he did not take our calls. A text message sent to him had not been responded to at press time.

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