Mr. Udengs Eradiri, a candidate for governor from the Labour Party in Bayelsa State, has condemned the killing of a youth named ThankGod Douglas on Wednesday, by a commercial tricyclist in the Yenizue-Gene neighborhood of Yenagoa because of N50.
Over a dispute on a N50 change, the commercial tricyclist fatally stabbed Douglas.
He also criticized the “jungle justice” that an enraged mob administered to the unnamed tricycle driver, lynching him to death and causing chaos in the state capital.
In a statement released on Thursday, Udengs referred to the acts of violence as a negligent waste of precious lives and urged security authorities, in especially the police, to prevent the potential collapse of law and order.
Additionally, he made a plea to the young people, particularly the residents of Epie-Atissa, whose son was slain in the tragedy, to maintain their composure and resist the urge to impose their own rules.
The previous leader of the Ijaw Youth Council pleaded with the populace not to use the incident as justification for racial profiling of their neighbors.
He claimed that groups such as the Ijaw, Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo have coexisted happily as brothers and sisters, and that one foolish conduct should not be used to condemn members of that ethnic group.
The LP governorship standard bearer said, “The life of everybody in this state matters and no act of provocation should lead to the taking of any life. The police must investigate the incident and ensure justice and peace.
“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.”
