DSS arrests ‘killers’ of Bayelsa INEC’s secretary

DSS arrests ‘killers’ of Bayelsa INEC’s secretary

The Bayelsa State Directorate of the Department of State Security (DSS) has arrested six suspects for the alleged killing of the Administrative Secretary of the State Independent National Electoral Commission (BYSIEC), Chief Simeon Akpane.
The INEC officer was reportedly killed by gunmen on October 10 at 9pm in front of his home at Bethel Church, off Otitio Road, Yenezue-gene, Yenagoa, the state capital.
Akpane was initially thought to have been shot at close range by hired assassins, but DSS said its preliminary investigation showed that he was killed by robbers.
Parading the suspects yesterday in Yenagoa, DSS State Director Lassan Baba named them as: Freedom Allen, 26; Clarkson Okilo, 27 (aka Oyoyo) and Abubakar Ibrahim, 24.
Others are: Salisu Haladu, 24; Maharaza Sallau, 20 and Simeon Macaulay Imiete, 20.
Baba said Allen, Okilo and another suspect on the run, simply identified as Ebi (aka Omega), conspired to rob for money for their needs on the day of the killing.
The DSS director said the suspects perfected their plan at Biogbolo Community School between 6 and 7pm.
He said at 8pm, they boarded a commercial tricycle (Keke) from their location to Otiotio Road.
Baba said the suspects confessed that they chose Otiotio because the area was perceived to be the home of the rich.
He said: “As they walked into Bethel Church Close, they saw a flashy car being driven into the close and they followed the vehicle, believing that the occupant must have money on him.
“As their victim parked in front of his house, they blocked him, searched and collected his mobile phone. At that juncture, their victim grabbed Omega, a member of the gang who was holding a pistol, and began to struggle with him.
“This prompted Allen to collect the locally-made revolver, popularly known asAwka made, from Omega and shot their victim on the head. As their victim fell on the ground, they took to their heels with the victim’s phone.”
Baba said Clarkson, who collected the victim’s phone, sold it for N5,000 that night at 9.30pm to Ibrahim at Yenezue-gene. The buyer in turn sold it N6,000 to Halladu.
Halladu, the DSS director said, sold the phone to Sallau, who the command recovered it from.