Unknown gunmen in the early hours of Monday invaded Aleibiri community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and kidnapped the aged father of the state deputy governor, Chief Simeon Ebebi.
The incident, which happened barely 72 hours after the signing of a peace pact by the Federal Government and the representatives of the various militant groups in the state, threw the entire community into a state of confusion.
The deputy governor, Peremobowei Ebebi, could not be reached as at the time of filing this report as he was said to be attending to official matters in Abuja.
However, a community source told the Nigerian Tribune that the gunmen invaded the community around 3.00 a.m. on Monday. On arrival at the village, the source stated that the gunmen, who were about 25 in number, started shooting sporadically to scare villagers that might want to resist their operation.
The father of the deputy governor, who is also the paramount ruler of the community, was said to be in his bed when the gunmen struck. Even though the youths in the village put up resistance as there was a reported exchange of gunfire, they could not match the firepower of the gunmen.
Chief Ebebi was taken away in one of the 20 boats that were used for the operation to an unknown destination. When contacted, the Chairman of Ekeremor Local Government, Mr. Robinson Etolor, confirmed the incident, saying that suspected gunmen in the early hours of Monday kidnapped the paramount ruler of Aleibiri who is also the father of the state deputy governor.
Condemning the act, Etolor called on the gunmen to release the aged traditional ruler, noting the efforts were being put in place by the present administration in the state to restore peace as well as raising the economic standard of the state.
Also, a statement signed by the Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor, Charles Tambo, confirmed the incident, saying that the traditional ruler was abducted by unidentified gunmen.
The statement described the perpetrators as mere criminals who were out to discredit the peace pact signed by militants with the Bayelsa State and the federal governments.
In his reaction, the state chairman of the Niger Delta Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, Chief James Jephtah, confirmed the incident, but described the perpetrators as criminals and not militants.
According to him, “the recent happening has nothing to do with the recently signed peace pact between the Federal Government and the militant groups in the state, it is pure criminal act. We all know that we cannot rule out criminality in the whole act.
“During our last visit to the various militant camps in the state, the leaders of each group listed their demands which included the release of one of their leaders arrested in Angola, Jomo Gbomo, employment opportunities for the youths as well as provision of social infrastructure for the people in the region.”
Chief Jephtah said that all the demands had been tabled before the government, and the affected youths had been advised to be patient with the government.
The chairman while dissociating militants from the present incident said, “we believe that those we have gone into agreement with would not betray us.”
To him, the kidnap of the father of the deputy governor was political and should be treated as such. The Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, Ibokette Iniobong, could not be reached for confirmation as at the time of filing this report.
Nigerian Tribune recalled that during the signing of the peace treaty, the state governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, declared that with the closure of the camps of all the militant groups in the state, the state had ceased to be the capital of militant groups but the capital of peace in the country.
He allayed the fears of the multinational corporations, calling on them to return to the state and start their exploration and exploitation business.
By Soji Ajibola, Yenagoa
Nigerian Tribune
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
