Tension as DSS arrests NCP candidate over disruption of PDP rally

The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested a House of Assembly candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP) in Bayelsa State, Mr. Lucky Ogbazi over the alleged dis­ruption of presidential sen­sitization campaign rally of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ofoni, Sag­bama Local Government Area of the state.

Ogbazi’s family, how­ever, said efforts to know his whereabouts from DSS offi­cials had failed since he was taken away from his home.

Checks indicated that Ogbazi was fingered in the disruption of the rally, led by the Commissioner for Works, Mr. Lawrence Erudjakpor in the community.

He was alleged to have mobilized suspected thugs to throw stones into the palace of the traditional ruler while Erudjakpor was visiting the palace with his entourage.

The situation was said to have worsened when one of the suspected thugs shot into the crowd, while others de­scended on the visitors’ ve­hicles and vandalized seven of them.

The state Commis­sioner of Police, Valen­tine Ntomchukwu, at a stake­holders’ meeting organized yesterday, ahead of the 2015 elections in the state, blamed the attack on the refusal of the Erudjakpor and his team to notify the police about the campaign visit to Ofoni com­munity in Sagbama.

Meanwhile, the Commis­sioner of Police, Mr. Valentine Ntomchukwu, has warned politicians in the state against engaging in violence during the general elections.

He said the police would clamp down on anybody or group of people that might want to carry out violent act in the course of the elections.

He spoke at the one-day se­curity stakeholders’ meeting convened by the police for all the political parties and their candidates ahead the Febru­ary elections.

Ntomchukwu, however, expressed displeasure with the absence of the two ma­jor political parties, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the meeting.

The police boss noted that the meeting was convened to sensitize the candidates, party officers, agents, and other stakeholders on the need to work together to ensure peaceful polls in the state.