Supplementary election: Guns boom in Bayelsa; hoodlums invade Gov’s Lodge, shoot ex-speaker, council chair; disarm policemen

Twenty four hours to the supplementary election in Bayelsa State, hoodlums went on the rampage on Friday, unleashing violence in the South-South state.
In Ekeremor, militants took over the community, shooting sporadically and injuring the former Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Boyelayefa Debekeme, at the Governor’s Lodge after disarming the policemen on duty.
Chairman of Ekeremor Local Government, Billy Tobiye, and PDP ward agent, Tams Alari, among others were injured.
The traditional ruler of Ekeremor, Agbodo Gbaseimo, had to run for his life.
The incident, which happened less than 24 hours to the conduct of the supplementary election in Southern Ijaw Local Government and 101 units in the state, threw the entire community into pandemonium as the militant group, which moved about in an assured fashion, threatened to pull down the Lodge and other buildings belonging to PDP members in the state.
Brandishing dangerous weapons including guns, machetes and charms, the invaders unfazed by the presence of security operatives, descended on Debekeme and others with machetes and other weapons.
Debekeme received machete cuts on his head and other parts of his body, while Tams Alari and Billy Tobiye were beaten to stupor by the rampaging militants.
The hapless policemen on duty were saved by soldiers who stormed the area.
The soldiers recovered the arms from the hoodlums.
Workers at the Governor’s Lodge scampered for safety.
Debekeme and a few of those injured were rushed to a hospital in Torugbene, while Alari and Tobiye are receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Bomadi, Delta State.