Unidentified attackers were reported to have detonated explosives in the private house of Kombowei Benson, Speaker of Bayelsa State House of Assembly in his hometown, Korokorosei in Ijaw South Local Government on Thursday.
Though the explosion shattered windows, doors and glasses in the house, nobody was injured and no life was lost.
Bayelsa State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Asinim Butswat, confirmed the attack and said the police were on the trails of the perpetrators. But he gave no indication whether there was any link between the bombing and Saturday’s supplementary governorship election in the local government.
“On the 7/1/2016, at about 0405hrs, unknown persons detonated an object suspected to be dynamite in the compound of Hon Kombowei Benson, at Korokorosei community,” Butswat said in a statement. “The impact resulted in damage to the doors, windows and glasses in his residence. Nobody was injured and no life was lost.
“The scene was visited and a team of explosive ordnance Disposal unit (EOD) is conducting post-blast investigations. Efforts have been intensified to arrest the culprits.”
Benson, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has blamed the attack on his political opponents.
Speaking on a radio programme in Yenagoa, capital of the state, the lawmaker said he was alerted about the attack by telephone.
“I was asleep in my house in Yenagoa when my wife’s phone rang and we received a message that they have thrown dynamite into my house,” he said. “It’s not unexpected because they have promised to assassinate me or my family members.”
There is tension in parts of the state ahead of Saturday’s re-run election in Southern Ijaw and some 101 polling units across Bayelsa.
-The Cable
