APC Chieftain shot dead in Bayelsa

Gunmen suspected to be political thugs stormed the residence of a Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Hon. Sunday Frank Oputu, and shot him dead.

Daily Trust gathered that Frank-Oputu, who had also served as State Chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), was killed at his residence at Bay-Bridge road, Yenagoa, the state capital, in the early hours of Tuesday evening.

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Frank-Oputu, an ally of former Minister of Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, belonged to APC faction in the state loyal to the ex-Minister.

A founding member of the APC in the State, the deceased was seen as the voice of the opposition party in the Bayelsa.

He was said to have had running litigation in his party and his community in Southern Ijaw local government area.

He was among those opposed to the control and APC leadership of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva.

The Sylva-led APC faction had last year expelled late Frank-Oputu alongside eight others for alleged anti-party activities.

Sources close to him also claimed that he was at the forefront of the struggle to extricate his community from the firm control of illegal oil bunkering activities by some militants in the Egbematoru axis of the area.

SP Asinim Butswat, Police Public Relations Officer in Bayelsa, who confirmed the murder of the APC chieftain, said the commissioner of police had directed operatives to intensify efforts to identify and arrest the perpetrators.

He said, “On 26 April 2022, at about 2300 hours, gunmen scaled the fence and gained access to the residence of Hon. Frank Oputu located at No. 1 Jonah Road Bay- Bridge, Kpansia, fired several shots at the Honourable through the window of his bedroom and fatally injured him.

“The injured victim was rushed to Federal Medical Center, Yenagoa, where he was confirmed dead.The corpse has been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.”