Deaths In Abuoloma Could’ve Been Prevented – IYC President

September 18, (THEWILL) – The National President of the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide (IYC), Comrade Jonathan Lokpobiri, stated that the death that occurred at Abuoloma in Rivers State, during the IYC Eastern Zone election last Saturday, could have been avoided.

Lokpobiri said it was an election he had no interest in, saying he had nothing personal to benefit from an election that led some promising youths to their early grave.

The IYC president, while addressing the press at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretariat in Yenagoa, said as an Ijaw, they have conducted elections in Oporoza, which everybody knows the capacities, “every Ijaw youth at the end of that election and all the candidates of interest parties, they all failed and we all left in safety.

“Let me also inform the world that we have done similar elections in Okochiri, where Our respected king, his royal majesty Ateke Tom and all the candidates of their interest failed in that election, while they were just there as direct observers, nobody was wounded and we all left there in safety.”

“What is so different in just a zonal election that I have nothing personal to benefit from, to lead to the death of Ijaw youths that we should protect, these are questions that I would like the press to answer and those responsible for this death.”

Speaking further said, the former secretary general of the council, whom he described as a cousin to Alhaji Asari Dokubo, has consistently lied to him (Asari Dokubo), that I had an interest in installing a wike candidate and I must not be allowed to conduct the election and Alhaji believe him.

“I raised the issue of my predicament in Opubo, where I almost got shot and Alhaji told me, it was a lie that Nengi told him nothing of such happened and Sergeant Weri, who was a witness, told him he was a witness to what happened. Instead of investigating the truth, he believes his brother, nevertheless, I pleaded with him to attend the meeting on Friday, presiding over the election which he actually attended.”

According to Lokpobiri, before the morning of the election, in the night, “Our leader called me Mr President, I heard that you are going to provide military men to that election venue and that if you are providing military for an IYC election, that I will confront you.”

“The Ijaw people will confront you and I said sir, I don’t know, whoever has told you this, but that is a lie sir, the security I will be needing is for just my own escort so that I can safely go in there conduct the election and they will escort me out, they will not be part of the security system.

“The security would be the local community security, I pleaded with him in the cause of my explanation and he flared up that from now on, you cease to be my president, this election ordinary ought to have been conducted today being Friday, but since you are going ahead to conduct the election on Saturday, which is a violation of our constitution, whatever will be the outcome would be invalid, I will not honour it.

“And there was a video where it was widely spread, where he said that he supported me to be president now, I have gone to collect money from wike to coronate a candidate for wike to fight same and as far as he is concern, he will not allow a wike candidate contest this election and that the election will not hold.”

“Just 20 minutes into the voting process, we started hearing gunshots, initially, it was a huge crowd of people rushing to break the gate which the community local security couldn’t withstand and many of them were in the same regalia of white and white with native chalk and red and red, with some people in black and they were led by one Ododo, who they said is one of the leading commanders of Amamas soldiers.”

“Several people were matched with some people’s arms completely cut off, what was their crime, they came to participate, just to witness an IYC election that in other times we had peacefully and that more than 20-something buses were loaded with men with weapons into the premises, which was a total shift from the dream and vision of IYC founding fathers.”

“We discipline ourselves in order not to have an altercation in the cause of the election and while the election was going on, the formal secretary came first to seize the electoral material from the Zeco chairman and that the election was not free and fair which the security men on ground settled on.”