The Bayelsa Police Command has visited the scene of crime following armed attack by unidentified gunmen on Oronto Douglas’ residence and Okoroba in Nembe LGA of Bayelsa on December 26, 2017, two clear days after the crime.

There had been claims by some persons in the community that the police did not respond to distress calls during the attack on some residences, including that of the late Oronto Douglas, a former Commissioner for Information in the state.

The Command had lied and feigned ignorance of the crime when contacted for update on the situation and later recanted, visited the crime scene albeit belatedly as evidence of reports to the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of operations and Nembe Police Division became public.

Okoroba is the hometown of the late Oronto Douglas, who was also a Special Adviser on Research and Documentation to former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Oronto’s younger brother, Gift, said on telephone from Okoroba on Friday that a police team visited the crime scenes on Thursday to commence investigation on the incident.

Gift said that he personally reported the incident, when it was happening, to the command’s Public Relations Officer as well as the Nembe Police Division.

“The police just visited the community,” Gift said.

According to him, some gunmen, numbering about 15, on Tuesday night attacked Okoroba Community, carting property worth millions of naira.

Reacting on the incident, Mr Alagoa Morris, an Environmental Rights Activist and ally of late Oronto Douglas, condemned the attack on the residence of a late humanist who served the people selflessly.

He expressed regret that the response of the security agencies was hampered because the community was not accessible by road and therefore urged the state and federal governments to tighten security in coastal communities.

“The security deployments to oil rich coastal communities should also be for residents and not only to concentrate all manpower on oil installations alone.

“I wept on reading media reports on such attack on the residence of Douglas who was so selfless and worked for the Niger Delta environment who died in his prime in service of the nation as if his untimely death was not enough some people desecrated the land,” Morris said.

Asinim Butswat, a Deputy Superintendent of Police and Spokesman for Bayelsa Police Command, had said on Thursday that he could not confirm the incident as merely heard of it and had limited information.

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