From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The death toll of Policemen that died in the line of duty at the river in Southern Ijaw has risen to six. Initially three policemen were said to have drowned in the river when the boat conveying them for election duty capsized.
According to investigations 11 policemen were in the boat when the accident happened, five were immediately rescued with wounds while six were missing.
A statement from the Bayelsa State Police Command through the Police Public Relations Officer(PPRO), Asinim Butswat confirmed the incident and disclosed that their bodies have been recovered.
“The Bayelsa State Police Command regrets to announce the recovery of the bodies of policemen who went missing after a boat mishap.
The unfortunate incident occurred on Friday 4th December, 2020 when one of the speedboats conveying eleven Policemen from Yenagoa to Southern Ijaw capsized at Oporoma. Five of the Policemen were rescued immediately, while six were missing.
A combined team of rescue officers from the Marine Department of the Bayelsa State Police Command and local divers have recovered the six bodies of the missing policemen and they are deposited at the mortuary.
The Command condoles with the families of the deceased. Investigation has commenced to ascertain the cause of the boat mishap”
Meanwhile the Bayelsa State Government has condoled with the Inspector- General of Police Mr. Mohammed Adamu, over the loss of some of the force’s personnel that drowned while escorting voting materials for last Saturday’s senatorial bye-election in the state.
Governor Diri, who also condoled with the families of the deceased policemen, said in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, on Sunday, that their sudden demise while on national duty was very painful.
While describing the incident as unfortunate, he prayed God to give the police boss and the families of the policemen the strength to bear the great loss.
Governor Diri, however, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the smooth and fast process it put in place for the election.