Christmas Day Tragedy, Policeman shoots colleague in Bayelsa

Barely four days after an armed robber mistakenly shot dead a gang member in Bayelsa, a Policeman attached to Bayelsa Police Command in Yenagoa, has mistakenly shot and killed a colleague in a gun duel between the police and suspected cultists.

Daily Times learnt that the incident took place on Monday at Obele area of Ovom in Yenagoa.

Eye witnesses said trouble started when a misunderstanding amongst cultists celebrating Christmas degenerated into a fight among themselves in the area resulting in gunshots which attracted a police patrol team to the area.

The Police Spokesman in Bayelsa, Mr. Asinim Butswat, DSP, who confirmed the incident, expressed shock over the development.

Butswat said, “Yes, the incident was between cultists but as the police went to find out what was going on, the cultists started shooting and one of the police mistakenly shot an officer.

“Though, we are yet to get the full detail because some of our men, who were at the scene, are supposed to brief us over the matter.

“Nevertheless, the Police is intensifying efforts to ensure a crime free environment for the people in Bayelsa; in this period of Christmas celebration, we deployed over 4, 000 personnel for patrol.

“We adopted some strategies like ‘Cordon and Search’; I must tell you, our men and women are fully on operations to safeguard lives and property”.

Chris Eze, Yenagoa