The New Nigeria People’s Party on Sunday condemned the rising spate of killings across Nigeria and the assassination of its member, Sunday Oputu, in Bayelsa State.
While describing killings in Nigeria as a threat to the country’s democracy, the national chairman of NNPP, Prof. Rufai Alkali, said the assassination was “carrying the signature of a politically motivated act, capable of eroding the confidence of the people in the ability of the Nigerian State to protect the lives and property of its people.”
He said the Bayelsa State chairman of the NNPP, Dr. Joel Tubonimi, who brought the attention of the national secretariat to the incident, said the matter had been reported to the police.
Oputu was said to be a former chairman of the Conference of the Nigeria Political Parties and Inter-Party Advisory Council in Bayelsa State.
Oputu, who before joining NNPP was a factional State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, was killed in his residence in Yenagoa, the state capital.
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In a statement by the Media Office of the party, Alkali “condemned the rising spate of insecurity across Nigeria generally, and demanded justice for both the deceased and the family he left behind.”
The statement reads, “We received with shock news of the death of one of our active members in Bayelsa state, the late Sunday Oputu. Sadly, his assassination by yet to be identified gunmen was not an isolated case.
Nigerians are losing their lives daily to bandits, terrorists, and other extra-judicial means to such an extent that people are beginning to wonder if we have a government.”
“While we appeal to our members, especially in Bayelsa, to remain calm and not take the laws into their own hands, we demand immediate action from security agencies.
“We want the assassination investigated, and the culprits brought to justice. We pray God grant those left to mourn our departed colleague the fortitude to bear the loss. We also pray for the repose of his soul.”
