Violence erupted in Bayelsa State, specifically at the Twon-Brass jetty in the Brass Local Government Area, less than 24 hours to Saturday’s governorship election.
Supporters of the All Progressives Congress and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party clashed over electoral materials intended for voting in the area, according to PUNCH.
INEC officials on-site were attempting to offload the materials when the violence occurred, though it remains unconfirmed whether these materials were sensitive or non-sensitive items.
Allegedly, supporters of both parties disagreed over the timing of securing the electoral items for tomorrow’s governorship polls.
Sources claimed that Bara Daniel, the PDP chairman for Brass LGA, sustained a head injury during the ensuing scuffle.
There were also allegations involving Victor Isaiah, a former council chairman and APC chieftain, in the fracas.
Isaiah, however, denied involvement in assaulting the PDP stalwart, stating that he intervened to diffuse the tension.
He claimed that the PDP chairman was intimidating APC supporters in the disagreement over securing the electoral materials.
Isaiah said, “I was there actually to monitor the process of the materials offloading, but the PDP chairman kept making derogatory statements which unsettled some people, but I was able to calm the situation.” Eventually, military personnel intervened, restoring normalcy.
The chairman of Brass Local Government Area, Mr. Hanson Karika, strongly condemned the attack on the PDP chairman of Brass LGA, urging security agents to be on alert to prevent further violence.
In response, the Police Public Relations Officer for Bayelsa Command, Asinim Butswat, mentioned that the DIG in charge of election security in the state, DIG Daniel Sokari-Pedro, would address a conference later today.