Why Sylva Must Apologise For Killings By Famutangbe –Dickson

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, News Thursday, November 26th, 2015

Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has clarified his position over alleged unfair criticism of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Timipre Sylva, in respect of the reported killings by the security outfit, Famutangbe, established by Sylva as governor of the state.

Sylva has said he never knew about the deaths as claimed to have been committed by those he appointed to run the organization.

Dickson had accused Sylva of allowing many deaths in the hands of operatives of Famutangbe which he repeatedly reckoned to be state-sponsored terror outfit, haunting political opponents, many of whom were said to have run into exile under his watch.

He has consequently told Sylva to apologize to Bayelsans ahead of the December 5 governorship election as atonement for the actions of an institution he set up but ending up taking up arms against the people.

In an interview with newsmen yesterday in Yenagoa, the state capital, Dickson restated his view that really the APC candidate must apologize to the people in order to close the ugly past in his relationship with the people and indeed in his public perception.

According to the governor, Sylva should be held accountable rather than passing the buck to those he put in charge of the security organization and as such he needed to take responsibility as the chief security officer of the state.

He said bluntly that the former governor did not do enough to guarantee the security of the state when he was in charge.

He said the situation he met on assumption of duty necessitated his administration’s tough stance on security of lives and property in the state, adding that security is now taken for granted but that it took a lot of efforts and resources to acquire high-tech facilities which monitor and detect crime in real time.

He stated: “I was trying to say that when you are a leader you take responsibility. If you set up an organisation like Famutangbe and you put people in charge, as someone in ultimate authority, as chief executive officer, you take responsibility for the decisions you take, for the appointments you make and the organisations you set up. So he cannot run away from that.

“I want to use this opportunity to ask that he apologise to Bayelsans for the atrocities he committed during his tenure. He shouldn’t rationalise it. It is annoying when he says he did not know some of the victims were killed. I do not want to call names. I go campaigning in communities and the people tell me the names and number of people that were killed in their communities. This is a cause for concern. Let him apologise to Bayelsans”.