Bayelsa violence: Dickson warns Lokpobiri

Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has frowned at the deploying of force by Senator Heineken Lokpobiri to secure the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket for Bayelsa–West Senatorial District, “with misleading information and outright forgery of party documents”.
The governor, who was speaking when he visited the scene of a clash between rival supporters of the winner of the party’s primaries, Evangelist Foster Ogola, and incumbent Senator, Heineken Lokpobiri, who is challenging Ogola’s candidacy in court, warned that the government will deal decisively with anybody or group of persons, no matter how highly placed, that takes the law into their hands.
Reports have it that Ogola’s supporters were irked when the Judge, who had earlier been petitioned over his lobsided handling of the matter, went ahead to fix hearing and judgement for today (Monday) without proper notification to both parties, even as the matter has been moved away from his court.
Dickson, who visited the scene of the clash in the company of some security chiefs, condemned Lokpobiri’s action for manipulating the judicial process for judgement to be passed in his favour, without the knowledge of the other party in the matter.
He advised the judiciary not to allow itself to be used by desperate politicians to perpetrate injustice, capable of causing a breach of the peace, as was experienced between the rival supporters.
It will be recalled that Lokpobiri allegedly employed the services of thugs to disrupt the National Assembly primaries of the PDP held in Sagbama December, 2014 but for the presence of security agencies, who acted timely to stop them.