Bayelsa Poll: Ijaw Women Petition Human Rights Commission

Discontent and disappointed Ijaw women under the aegis of
Ijaw Women Liberation Movement have dragged
perpetrators of violence during the governorship election in
Bayelsa state to the National Human Right Commission.
Ijaw Women Petition Human Rights Commission
Leadership reports that the group issued a statement by
Chief Ebebi Agnes, threatening to protest naked. It also
described the actions of the military as an infringement of
the right of the citizens of Bayelsa state.
The Ijaw women also stressed that people of the state have
a right to freely vote for the candidate of their choice,
without harassment and intimidation.
“We wish to state emphatically that the conduct of the military
during the unconcluded elections, which saw such a respected
institution colluding with known common criminals in the creeks
to manipulate the electoral process, is sad and sends a very
dangerous signal to the advancement of our democracy.
“We have also resolved not to allow the killing and harassment
of the people of Bayelsa state as a result of the election wherein
the law enforcement agents were watching, to go unaddressed,
by the Human Right Commission, with a view of seeking justice
for the dead and protecting the living who are still vulnerable to
such barbaric conduct in future elections in Bayelsa or
elsewhere in the country,” the statement read in part.
READ ALSO: Bayelsa: Jonathan’s Men Responsible For
Bungled Election, Read Their Plans For Rivers
The group criticized security operatives for failing to protect
the people, particularly the women, from attacks by political
thugs and criminals.
According to the Ijaw women, the military’s actions proved
that they are incompetent and unprofessional. The women
wondered how operatives could watch with indifference
while political thugs killed law-abiding citizens who were out
to exercise their franchise.
Addressing President Muhammadu Buhari, the group
reminded him that it is the responsibility of the government
to protect the citizens as guaranteed by the Constitution.
“We are hereby calling on all the people of Bayelsa, particularly
the women, to arise and resist the tyranny that the military
occupation of our land during the election brought and be
prepared until the conclusion of the process on a date, to be set
by INEC for elections to hold in Southern Ijaw local government.
READ ALSO: Southern Ijaw: Bayelsa REC On The Run Over
Death Threats
“We are determined to pursue this to a logical conclusion and
will not hesitate to nakedly protest any further attempt to
militarise, what ordinarily should be a civil process in our state.
“We are peaceloving in Bayelsa and will not allow the
desperation to hijack power by some greedy individuals,
truncate the peace that has been enjoyed in our state over the
years,” the group warned.
Meanwhile, Governor Seriake Dickson has set up a judicial
commission of inquiry to investigate the violence and a
breach of peace that occurred before and after the
governorship election in Bayelsa state.
In a swift reaction Chief Timipre Sylva, the governorship
candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa state,
has termed the setting up of the commission as
unacceptable, unfortunate, and diversionary.