25 armed bandits invaded Bayelsa home of Jonathan’s ally, King Turner

YENAGOA—TONGUES are wagging in Bayelsa State over the tribulations of a paramount ruler and political kingmaker in the oil-rich state, King Amalate Johnnie Turner, who, a gang of 25 gun-totting bandits attacked and looted his country home, Opume, Ogbia Local Government Area of the state, penultimate Saturday.

 The invasion came about two months after security officials, purportedly members of the Department of State Services, DSS, stormed the Abuja residence of the monarch, a close friend of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, in search of unspecified records.

Political watchers are, however, wondering if the Obigbo Mikimiki I of Opume, whose conspicuous role in the consecration of top politicians in the state, including the incumbent governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, is a source of envy to his opponents, has come under attack for supporting the political ambitions of his friends.

 They see the show of aggression as something borne out of malice, arising from his political sagacity and not from any known infraction as a royal father.

But, what has become apparent in the unfolding saga is that this is not a splendid time for the paramount ruler, who assumed the kingship of the riverside community, about nine years ago.

Joyous villagers hailed his choice by the community’s kingmakers as the beginning of a new era of peace; harmony and growth in the area, but those not happy with his style of leadership see him as a politician in royal paraphernalia. The intrigues have exacerbated rather than douse matters in the town.

Niger Delta Voice gathered that his relationship with Dr. Jonathan, who hails from the neighbouring hamlet of Otuoke, stretches back to their early school days and during the latter’s presidency, he relocated to Abuja.

 He chaired a major Federal parastatal and served as a sort of unofficial contact man for several persons seeking to interact with the president. He is one of his trusted confidants.

However, since Jonathan lost the Presidential election in 2015, King Turner has found himself in one soup or the other, fuelling the impression that some people were after him for clandestine reasons.

Undoubtedly, his status as a community leader appears to have suffered a reversal in the eyes of some political actors in the state.

He woke up mid-February to hear that a group of persons who claimed to be members of the Department of State Services stormed his Abuja home. No security agency or official informed him of the said search and he was not present when the invaders struck.

When reports of the incursion leaked on the social media, the executors claimed they discovered currency in foreign and local denominations and documents connected to unnamed financial transactions in the domicile.

 The reason advanced for the intrusion was that King Turner is a “close associate of the former President.” Two months after the incident, nobody has offered further explanation on the offensive. However, NDV could not verify if DSS officials actually carried out the invasion as speculated.