Suspected hired thugs working for land grabbers in Bayelsa State have attacked a journalists attached to the State Ministry of Information and Orientation, Amaebi Jacob Alamene over a disputed land located at Akenfa Community in Yenagoa Local Government area of the State.
NAIJA LIVE TV gathered that the suspected thugs, who were allegedly under the payroll of the Vice Chairman of the Yenagoa Local Government Council, Mandy Sylvanus, were ordered to kill and maim anybody found on the land despite the order of the State Commissioner of Police, Ben Okolo. The thugs, armed with dangerous weapons dealt several machete blows on the defenseless journalist and dragged him deeper into the bush to slaughter him before they were stopped by a good Samaritan.
Community sources confirmed the the dispute over the land was between the accused Vice Chairman of the Yenagoa Local Government council, Mandy Sylvanus and one Collins Kalabari. The injured Journalist is serving as a proxy for Collins Kalabiri.
According to sources, the presence of the injured journalist at the site of the land was due to the order from the Commissioner of Police that pictures of the land be taken for the records in the investigation.
NAIJA LIVE TV gathered that despite the court order in favor of Collins Kalabari as the bonafide owner of the land, the embattled Vice Chairman, Mandy Sylvanus was alleged to have re-sold the land to unknown persons with the unfounded claim that his mother owns the land. A claim punctured by his uncles and family member who sold it to Collins Kalabari.
The Injured Journalist, Amaebi Jacob Alamene, who spoke to NAIJA LIVE TV on his hospital bed, confirmed that he was lucky to be alive because he was left lifeless in his own pool of blood and saved from being slaughter by a good Samaritan who identified him.
According to the Medical Doctors at the Federal Medical Center in Yenagoa led by a Consultant Family Physician, Dr. Adebisi Ditari, stated in his report that the journalists was brought in with multiple laceration to the left leg(above the knee), left hand, forehead and lower jaw,” Initial treatment and suturing of laceration were done in a peripheral centre.”
Alamene, while recounting what happened said “the incident happened on Saturday morning, 12th of February, 2022. The Bayelsa Police Commissioner had asked some policemen to take parties to the disputed land to take pictures and know what happened on the land. Because the case was before the police no one could visit the land. I was to go with the police about report back to him on Monday.”
“When I got to the land, I saw only a policeman and a photographer. When I got there, I asked the policeman that where are the other policemen detailed to be with us, he said because it was only to take picture, there was no need. As we were talking, a group of boys came out and armed with dangerous weapons. Before I know, the policeman entered his vehicle and drove away.”
“I was defenseless, the boys dealt me machete blows and dragged me towards the bush that wanted to slaughter me. They collected my phone from me and switched it off immediately. While they were dragging me to the bush, one of them raised an alarm that this man does not have a land here why are you dragging him to kill him? He ordered that I should be released. At that point they were arguing and my body was soaked with my blood. On my legs, I was pain because they use machete to flog me.”
“The good Samaritan rescued me to his car. My car was already soaked with fuel to be set ablaze. They wanted to kill me and burn my car. The good Samaritan stopped them and collected my car key from them. And gave it to the other person with him. He drove me to Akempai area in Yenagoa for a nurse to give me first aid but because the blood was too much, the Nurse asked that I be taken to a hospital.”
Confirming the incident, the State Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Comrade Samuel Numonengi condemned the attack and described it as barbaric and criminal, urging the State Commissioner of Police to arrest all those involved in the deadly attack.
Numonengi said though the case is before the State Police Command, he called on the State Governor, Gov. Douye Diri and head of security agencies in the state to intervene and get those involved as sponsors and the thugs arrested, “thank God our journalist was not killed. This is how they slaughter people in the state and the corpse go missing mysteriously. The surrounding bushes and swamps should be checked because we believe these are hired thugs involved in cases of missing persons in the state.”.
More details shortly
Kindly contact us @ Naijalivetv@gmail.com
Call or Whatsapp: 07035262029, 07016666694, 08129340000
