Still On Insecurity In Bayelsa
Bayelsa State has continued to make negative headlines, following the wave of insecurity that has refused to abate. Both innocent souls as well as the perpetrators of the criminal acts are continuously going down almost on a daily scale.
The frequency of the brutal killings, despite claims by security agencies and the state government that they are not resting on their oars is becoming a source for serious concern.
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In recent times, no week passes without stories of worthless killings by suspected cults, armed robbers, kidnappers or sea pirates.
Penultimate week, the capital city of Bayelsa state was seized and shaken to its foundation by a daredevil cult group which unleashed horror on unsuspecting residents of Azikoro community, a suburb of Yenagoa.
Around 10pm on that fateful day, a heavily armed cult gang invaded a new generation church known as Lion of Judah Church, forced their way into the church auditorium and opened fire on the members who were praying, killing two worshipers, while others escaped into a nearby bush.
The marauding cult boys never stopped there but continued with sporadic gunshots in the neighborhood, killing a pregnant woman and her husband on the spot and setting houses ablaze before exiting the area unhurt, after operating for several hours without interruption from security men.
It was gathered that the armed cultists carried out the deadly operation against the residents in retaliation for allegedly revealing their hideout and reporting it to the police who subsequently went and burnt down the place.
Though innocent souls were lost in the dastardly act, we commend the police for the subsequent arrest of the leader of the cult group that perpetrated the evil act whose name was given as Sinime Dankamba, alongside his gang members.
According to a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Bayelsa state Police Command, Mr. Asinim Butswat, Sinime who was arrested by Operation Puff Adder of the state Command equally revealed where he killed and buried one of his cult members whose name was simply given as Israel, a native of Akwa Ibom state who was residing in Yenagoa.
Nonetheless, the wastage of human lives continued last week when two militant groups in struggle for supremacy clashed in a gundwell at Oluasiri community in Nembe local government area of the state. At the end of the bloody clash, seven persons were reportedly shot dead while the surrounding communities were thrown into extreme fright.
One incontrovertible point concerning the killings at Oluasiri is that whether they are called militant groups or not, those killed were humans who had right to live if security agencies were up and doing, ensuring that all loopholes were thoroughly blocked so that civilians do not possess or have access to firearms.
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While we also commend the Bayelsa state police command for setting up a special taskforce with the purpose of mopping up all illegal firearms in the hands of unauthorized individuals, we equally charge the police to match their words with action. This is because we have had several similar charges coming from the top echelon of the police to their men with little or no result achieved.
We advise members of the public to continue to give useful information to the police and other relevant security bodies for optimal fight against criminality. On the other hand, we also urge the police and her sister agencies fighting crime to keep as top most secret the identity of those who volunteer important information to them so as to not endanger their lives.
To put an end to or reduce insecurity to its barest minimum in Bayelsa state and other parts of the country, the police, in collaboration with other security agencies, must carry out disarmament operation in all nooks and crannies. By the time those who are not authorized to bear firearms are thoroughly mopped up, the fight against insecurity would have been won by, at least, 90 percent and that will not be a mean feat.
