The Labour Party governorship candidate in Bayelsa State, Mr Udengs Eradiri, has condemned the killing of a youth, identified as ThankGod Douglas, by a commercial tricyclist in Yenizue-Gene area of the Yenagoa environs on Wednesday over N50.
The commercial tricyclist had stabbed Douglas to death over a disagreement about a N50 change.
He also decried the jungle justice meted out to the unidentified tricycle operator by an angry mob that lynched him to death, sparking off pandemonium in the state capital.
Udengs in a statement on Thursday said the acts of violence amounted to a careless waste of precious lives and called on security agencies, particularly the police to avert a possible breakdown of law and order
He also 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 Youth Council urged the people not to capitalise on the incident to engage in ethnic profiling of their neighbours.
According to him, the Ijaw, Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo among others have lived peacefully together as brothers and sisters and the irresponsible act of one person should not be used to judge others from his 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.”
