Black Sunday In Bayelsa: Prison Inspector Killed, As Wife, Daughter Watch

A prison Inspector attached to the Bayelsa State Prison Command was yesterday shot dead by a yet-to-be identified gunman, suspected to be his colleague during a mild scuffle in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital. 

The deceased, Erezidor Ugo, 28 was off duty and playing host to two of his colleagues who had come to celebrate with him on the fateful Sunday over the new car which he (deceased) bought last week when he was shot in the presence of his wife, also a prison official and her six year old daughter.

While the celebration was going on in a sit-out near his house, eye witnesses told LEADERSHIP that the other two armed prison officials fired some shots into the air which caused panic and pandemonium within the Nikton road axis, the centre of the city.

The gunshots which occurred at about 3 pm yesterday along Wisdom Estate, around the private residence of President Goodluck Jonathan who incidentally was in Bayelsa state on a private visit, attracted security attention.

A police team led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in-charge of Ekeki Police Station, Nemi Iwo rushed to the hideout, few metres away from Jonathan’s house and tried to disarm the prison officials who initially refused to disclose their identity.

In the ensuing struggle to dispossess them of their rifles, the eye witnesses said, the gun with one of the prison officials triggered off and hit the deceased on the left side of his stomach and pierced through the other side, leaving him in danger.

But the deceased, Ugo died on the way to the Glory land Hospital, Yenagoa where he was rushed for possible treatment.

Relations of the deceased who heard of the incident headed to the hospital, wailing and crying over the death of their brother.

In their anger, they took the corpse to the state police command where security men had cordoned off the various entrances to their office, questioning every movement around there.

The state Commissioner of Police, Chris Alakpe and his men were in difficulty as to how to contend the rising tension caused by the incident, with relations and friends of the deceased, the first son of his father, refusing to leave the police command premises as at the time of filing this report.

Mrs Binafegha Ugo and her six year old daughter, Tari who witnessed the killing in cold blood of their husband and father, were in tears as they relayed their painful ordeals and asked God for vengeance on the matter.

Egwovon Emokpai, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) confirmed the story to the LEADERSHIP, but said investigations were on-going while the DPO and all others involved in the incident have made useful statements to the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID).