Voter Registration: How 8 Drowned in Bayelsa

Posted by admin Bayelsa, Elections 2011, State News Sunday, January 30th, 2011

Fresh facts yesterday emerged on the circumstances that led to the death of Eight persons on Thursday along the Nembe waterways in Nembe Local Government Area of the State with indigenes of the area claiming the deceased were non-indigenes inported by some politicians to register in the area.

The indigenes of the twin cities of Yenagoa and the Nembe Local Government Council had on Thursday expressed shock over the boat mishap that claimed about eight persons including some youths alleged to have been non-indigenes of the area for the Voters Registration exercise.

While the initial news about the mishap claimed that the tragedy claimed all occupants of two speed boats with only two indigene of Nembe community in it, others confirmed that out of the twelve passengers of a Speed boat heading toward Nembe town for registration, five persons drown and two bodies recovered.

The incident, which occurred at about 3pm and a few kilometers away from the Nembe town , tore apart a 12-seater fiber speedboat.

Leadership Sunday gathered from a Chieftain of the Labour Party in the area ,Chief James Yokuro that though the exact identity of the causalities involved in the mishap can not immediately be determined, they were made up of non-indigenes of Nembe Community and were hired to register in the area.

Leadership however gathered that the swollen bodies of the deceased were immediately take to the Nembe Police Division and case incidented. While one version had it that seven occupants of the boat lost their lives another source said only five persons drowned and that four corpses had been recovered.

The ill-fated boat was said to have sailed from the Ogbia jetty before it ran into turbulent wave along the Nembe creek. Sources blamed the accident on recklessness on the part of the boat driver whom they said should exhibited maximum caution on noticing the turbulent wave.

An indigene of the area while lamenting the sad loss said the accident could have been averted if only the driver were exercise restraint and was not going on high speed. The source, who was also going for the voter’s registration exercise lamented the non provision of life jacket for riverine travelers saying “if only they had worn life jacket they would have survived the accident.”

-Punch

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