The Assistant Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State, Amadein Tibiebi, has accused the chairman of KEFFES Rural Development Foundation, Mathew Selepre, for his recent arrest and interrogation.
The operatives of Zone 16 of the Nigerian Police on Monday arrested Tibiebi for alleged possession of illegal firearms.
Tibiebi's arrest on Monday was reportedly linked to a November 2022 incident involving the arrest of Richard Okon for allegedly possessing illegal firearms during a wake-keep in Koluama community, located in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
In a confessional video, Okon had claimed that the gun he was caught with belonged to Tibiebi, whom he was working with, although nothing was made of the incident.
But Tibiebi, in a statement released to journalists in Yenagoa, alleged that his arrest and the media buzz that followed was a strong confirmation of the deliberate effort of Selepre to tarnish his image and reputation.
He said: "This situation was simply created to attract media attention. The individual making these accusations is Mr. Matthew Selepre, with whom I have had disagreements regarding the selection process for the Chairman of the KEFFES Rural Development Foundation. Mr. Selepre, who hails from Koluama 1 Community, refused to allow the leadership position of the Foundation to rotate to my community, Koluama 2, after his four-year term ended.
"As a law-abiding citizen, I sought legal recourse to prevent him from continuing as chairman for another term. Despite a court order, Mr. Selepre disregarded the ruling and served a second term, during which I observed financial recklessness and mismanagement within the Foundation. I continued to speak out against these actions, as it was evident that the Foundation's funds were being misappropriated."
According to him, to seek justice against the financial malfeasance of Selepre, he addressed a petition to the Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) of Police, Zone 16, Yenagoa, and that investigations were opened.
He explained that just as the truth was about to be unveiled, Selepre addressed his own petition to the same AIG of Police on the allegations that he was in unlawful possession of firearms.
"When the Petition was approved by the AIG, I was not invited because doing so must surely give me some chance to put the record straight so I was asked to come to the AIG’s office, Zone 16 for more clarifications on my petition on misappropriation which I gladly did.
"The moment I stepped out of the AIG’s office after a successful deliberation on the allegations of misappropriation of Foundation funds, I was arrested for unlawful possession of firearms and the complainant is Mr. Selepre! While I was writing my statement under caution, the social media went ablaze with reports that a PDP Chieftain had been arrested for unlawful possession of firearms and forgery of license" he said.
Tibiebi claimed that the firearm in question is a licensed pump action riffle and not an assault riffle, which he uses for hunting games whenever he visits his village and that his entire community knows about it.
He also claimed that the said Richard Okon was used by his enemies to set him up, adding that the riffle and the license had been in possession of police, saying that the investigation could not indict him.
He revealed that the refusal of the police to conclude the matter made him request that the investigation be transferred to the Force Headquarters, Abuja, for objective investigations.
"This move was thwarted by the Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State Command even as it received the signal from headquarters. As it stands, the entire investigation is pending at the Force Headquarters, "he added.
