Police commissioners’ dead, Akpabio, Igini’s meeting, other top stories from South-south

Deadly Bayelsa boat accident, death of police commissioner in Akwa Ibom

It was a week of multiple tragedies in the region, beginning on Sunday with the death of one person in a boat accident at Okubie River in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

However, 14 people were rescued when the boat carrying 15 passengers from Yenagoa to Oporoma, the headquarters of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, capsized.

On another tragic note, the Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State, Waheed Ayilara, died within the week shortly after undergoing prostate cancer surgery at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.

Mr Ayilara died on Thursday and has since been buried according to Islamic rites.

Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, have commiserated with the family of the deceased police commissioner. Mr Egbetokun said he was “saddened” by Mr Ayilara’s death.

Mr Eno, in his condolence message, described Mr Ayilara as “one of the finest operational officers, a genial and fine gentleman who epitomised the finest ideal of the Nigeria Police Force.”

Also, on a sad note, the police in Akwa Ibom on Friday said that they exhumed from shallow graves the bodies of marine hunters from the Ministry of Internal Security and Inland Waterways who were abducted and murdered in Unyenghe community, Mbo Local Government Area of the state.

Six suspects, including the village head of Utit Antai, in Mbo, whom the police described as an “ally and spiritual purifier” to the suspects, have been arrested.

Appeal Court overturns nullification of Edo PDP governorship primary

We reported that the Court of Appeal, Abuja, overturned the High Court nullification of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary in Edo State on Monday.

In a unanimous decision, a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal held that it could not interfere with how the party selects its candidate for election.

Meanwhile, the PDP candidate for the election, Asue Ighodalo, has promised to reduce the suffering of the state’s people if voted into power. In a manifesto unveiled in June, Mr Ighodalo, a banker and lawyer, promised security, increased state revenue, and turned Edo into Africa’s tourist destination.

Gunmen abduct Rivers, top revenue official

We reported how gunmen, on Tuesday, abducted Aribibia Fubara, a director in the Rivers State Board of Internal Revenue Service.

The police said they have commenced an investigation into the incident.

In the neighbouring Akwa Ibom state, the police recorded a series of security breakthroughs within the week with the arrest of six suspected drug dealers and cultists in the state. The suspects, the police said, were arrested during raids on their hideouts.

Also, the police in Akwa Ibom, on Thursday, killed a man who allegedly abducted a High Court judge in the state and killed her security guard.

The police said the suspect, Ubong Archibong, described as a “dreaded kidnap kingpin and sea pirate,” was responsible for the killing of Sylvanus Ukpong, the elder brother of PREMIUM TIMES regional editor Cletus Ukpong.

The police said the suspect was the leader of the “Bling Bling Marine Strike Force terrorising Uruan/Oron Waterways,” an area which Governor Eno within the week requested a new army battalion for due to the surging cases of abductions in the area.

Within the week, we ran a report about a Nigerian who accused police operatives in Bayelsa State of extorting N3 million naira from him at gunpoint.

The victim, Kelechi Isaac, is based in Ghana but was in the state for a friend’s marriage ceremony when the incident occurred.

The police spokesperson in the state, Musa Mohammed, when contacted, denied knowledge of the incident.

Akpabio, Igini meet for first time after Akpabio lost 2019 Senate bid

Nigerian Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, Mike Igini, had a firm handshake while they grinned at each other Thursday during the annual Nigerian Bar Association Conference in Lagos.

The picture of the handshake trended on the internet because the duo met for the first time after Mr Akpabio lost the 2019 second-term Senate bid, an election overseen by Mr Igini.

Mr Akpabio’s supporters had accused Mr Igini of frustrating his re-election after a professor was jailed for three years for falsifying election results in favour of Mr Akpabio.