14th February, 2020
By Okafor Ofiebor
Sporadic shooting erupted at Tombia roundabout and Akemfa in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State last night, which snowballed into massive protest following the Supreme Court’s judgment which sacked David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress, APC and declared Duoye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, winner of the last governorship election.
It was clear what immediately sparked off the eruption of violence as the state capital had experienced subdued shock and tension sequel to Supreme Court’s judgment sacking Lyon, less than 24 hours to his inauguration today.
Bayelsans anxiously wait for the Independent National Electoral Commission, Abuja, to issue a Certificate of Return to Senator Duoye Diri as the duly elected Governor; expectedly violence sparked off at Tombia roundabout to Akemfa between 9pm and 10 pm last night, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.
It was gathered that the fracas ensued as some supporters of the APC resisted attempts by supporters of the PDP to remove the hoisted flags of APC. All manner of weapons were said to have been used freely.
Our Correspondent in Yenagoa, could not confirm casualties, but it was learnt that soldiers and policemen were drafted to the area to contain the situation.
Before the security agencies arrived, it was learnt that irate youths made bonfires of at the Tombia roundabout and Akemfa, but calm has been restored.
Also on Friday morning, protests rocked different parts of Yenagoa, following the Supreme Court’s judgement. Thousands of women took to the streets blocking major roads to protest the judgement insisting that no handover of power would be conducted in the state without Lyon.
The protesters were calling for Lyon reinstatement as they were armed with placard.
One of the commuters, who spoke in confidence, said she ran into the obstacle created by the rioters describing her experience as terrible.
She said: “It was a terrible experience when I ran into them. They refused to vacate the major road. There was no vehicular movement of any sort. People were forced to return to their homes.”