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Sylva condemns arrest, detention of his supporters
Newsdiaryonline Mon Nov 28,2011
Sylva
Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, has condemned the
arrest and unlawful detention of
70 of his supporters in Lokoja, Kogi State.The
governor’s supporters were intercepted about 5. 00 pm on Sunday
on their way to Abuja to show solidarity with the governor at
the hearing
of the case on tenure for five Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) governors at
the Supreme Court on Monday.
Comprising mainly PDP Ward Chairmen, the supporters were
travelling in six buses and a car. They were arrested and taken
to the police headquarters in Lokoja where they were detained
till 10.00 pm. Thereafter, they were left to fix their own
accommodation for the night, and escorted forcefully to Okene to
embark on a return journey to Bayelsa early on Monday.
In a press statement issued on Monday signed by his Chief Press
Secretary, Mr. Doifie Ola, Governor Sylva described the arrest
as a sad reminder of Nigeria’s dark days of military rule.
“Our constitution allows for the freedom of movement for every
Nigerian as well as freedom of association. This is another in
the series of recent happenings by agents of the Federal
Government to trample democracy in the face and truncate the
rights of Bayelsa people to freely decide their political
future,” he said.
The governor, however, pleaded with all his supporters to remain
calm and law abiding in the face of undue provocation, assuring
that “the will of
God through the people of Bayelsa State shall surely prevail in
the evolving political imbroglio in the state.”
Th
This is the document referred to in the Witness
Statement on Oath of Clifford O. Kokogho as
“Exhibit
COK.2”
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