A minor disagreement over N50 balance between a man , Hausa tricycle ( Keke) rider and another man from Epie has claimed the lives of two people in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.
Our Correspondent gathered that the Hausa Keke rider had carried the deceased Epie man whose destination was Kpansia.
However ,upon getting to his destination a minor disagreement broke out over N50 balance which snowballed into a shouting match.
The Keke operator irked by the action of the Epie man, brought out a dagger and stabbed him and he died on the spot.
Instantly, a mob gathered and lynched the Keke rider to death, while Epie boys mobilized and were targeting all Hausa Keke operators.
Some angry Epie youths mobilized to a Mosque in Ekeki, destroyed some properties and attempted to torch it, but the quick intervention of a detachment of Police operatives from Ekeki Police station stopped them.
The heightened tension caused pandemonium as several commuters were stranded because of the withdrawal of tricycles from the road,while motorists battled with gridlock caused by the barricade of the Kpansia and Nikton junction roads.
The Bayelsa State Police Command has condemned the action of the tricycle rider and appealed for calm from the people. It has also deployed anti-riot to Kpansia to prevent a break-down of law and order.
Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Bayelsa State, Mr Udengs Eradiri, has condemned the trending act of violence that led to the alleged stabbing to death of a youth in the state.
Eradiri described the incident as a careless wastage of a precious life in the state and called on security agencies especially the police to immediately intervene to avert possible breakdown of law and order.
He appealed to the youths, especially the people of Epie-Atissa, whose son was killed in the incident, to remain calm and avoid the temptation of taking laws into their own hands.
The former President of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, urged the people not to capitalize on the incident to engage in ethnic profiling of their neighbours.
He said the Ijaw, Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo among others had lived peacefully together as brothers and sisters and that the irresponsible act of one person should not be used to judge others from his ethnic group.
“May we avoid the temptation of capitalising on the incident to engage in ethnic profiling of our neighbours. As Ijaw we have continued to live peacefully with Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba among others and we consider them as our brothers and sisters.
“We can only isolate criminal elements among us without using their acts to define their ethnic backgrounds. This is where we call on security agencies to diligently do their work to calm frayed nerves. We sympathise with the bereaved family and the entire people of the state”.
