Politicians in Bayelsa State have received a warning from police authorities to refrain from making provocative remarks that could jeopardise the tenuous peace in the region.
At a press conference held on Friday evening at the police officer’s mess in Yenagoa, Sokari Pedro, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) overseeing South South, made this declaration.
DIG Sokari, who noted that he has been inundated with complaints from different quarters, said the complaints whatsoever received will not affect the credibility of Saturday’s elections.
“I was there yesterday during the protest; it happened yesterday and no one was tear gas; if anyone was tear gas today, we would have been hearing different stories. Because of my presence, the issue was resolved. Nobody was teargased; I spoke to them (the protesters), and they dispersed peacefully.”
“Politicians should refrain from making inflammatory statements; these statements are likely to inflame the already tense situation. I mentioned here yesterday during the stakeholders meeting that even though Bayelsa is a peaceful state, politically it is a very volatile state; therefore, these statements they make could just worsen the already tensed atmosphere, and at the end of the day, everyone will blame the police.”
The DIG denied the allegations that some protesting women were wearing tear gas during a protest in Yenagoa, the state capital.
