Bayelsa Speaker's House Bombed

The home of the Speaker of Bayelsa State House of Assembly in Korokorosie in Southern Ijaw local government area of the state has been bombed. The Punch reports that the Speaker, Mr. Konbowei Benson, disclosed this in a live telephone radio programme on Thursday, January 7. Benson alleged that assailants wearing hoods threw dynamites into his compound and destroyed part of his house. The Speaker who is a stalwart of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accused the opposition party of hiring thugs to bomb his house. According to him, he received information regarding the attack at about 4.am this morning via a telephone call. “I was asleep in my house here in Yenagoa and around 4am, my wife’s phone rang and a message was sent to us that they have gone to throw dynamite to my house. “It is not something unexpected because they have always been promising to attack, to kill or assassinate me or my family members. “During the last election about 14 persons from my community and family members were kidnapped and taken to Ologbobiri and assaulted,” Benson said. When the state police command spokesman, Asinim Butswat was contacted for confirmation, he said he is yet to receive report on the incident. Meanwhile, the Bayelsa state police command on Friday, January 8, confirmed the attack on the home of the state House of Assembly Speaker, Mr Kombowei Benson. The command’s spokesman, Asinim Butswat, told Premium Times that some hoodlums detonated an object suspected to be dynamite in the compound of Mr Benson, at Korokorosei community around 4.am on Thursday. He said no life was lost in the attack, adding that the impact of the explosion damaged the doors, windows and the glasses of the house. Mr. Butswat disclosed that a team of bomb experts from the command visited the scene of the blast to conduct investigation, adding that the command had intensified efforts to arrest the perpetrators. The force spokesman further revealed that no arrest had been made over the incident. Reacting to the incident on Friday, Mr. Benson said he had “overcome” the attack, and that he was working hard for his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to win the rescheduled governorship election in the Southern Ijaw council area. The political atmosphere in the state is yet to settled as it would be recalled that following irregularities in the conduct of the governorship election in Southern Ijaw local government area, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nullified the governorship election. The commission explained that the election was nullified due to violence, abduction of electoral officials and ballot box snatching in the local government area. Ijaw local government area is said to house the highest number of voters in the state and Governor Seriake Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had already won six out of the seven local government areas.