Bayelsa Guber: Police restricts movement of persons, others

The Police in Bayelsa have announced that movement of persons, motor vehicles and tricycles would be restricted from the hours of 6am to 6pm during the governorship election in the state on Saturday.

A statement on Friday by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Asinim Butswat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, in Yenagoa, said movement of some water facilities and river craft activities would also be restricted.

“Any person or group of persons who violates this order will be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.

“Likewise, movement of persons, motor vehicles and tricycles will be restricted. Only those on essential services will be allowed to move,” the statement added.

The statement further added that boats fitted with 200 horsepower engine and above are not permitted to move during the period, with restriction from 7 p.m. on Friday to 7 a.m. on Sunday.

Butswat urged the electorate to go out and exercise their franchise ‘by casting their votes for candidates of their choice’.

The statement warned that the command would deal with political parties and candidates who incited trouble during and after the poll.

Recall that on Tuesday, the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, had announced that 14,000 policemen had been deployed for election duty in Yenagoa.

Consequently, the statement said that the police had increased patrol and intensive surveillance in all parts of the state and had merged with other security agencies to ensure smooth and credible election.

“All political parties and their contestants are advised to abide by the peace accord they had earlier signed and comply with the regulations guiding the electoral process and must desist from any act capable of disrupting the election process,” the statement added.

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