The two alleged hit men involved in the recent Save the Bays (STB) murder for hire plot were not the perpetrators, according to Grand Bahama Human Rights Association (GBHRA) President Fred Smith.
Livingston Bullard and Wilsner Davilma, who went by the aliases ‘Toogie and Bobo’, were last year allegedly hired by Canadian Fashion Mogul Peter Nygard and Attorney Keod Smith to harm or kill members of STB.
Meantime Mr. Smith is taking issue with the Royal Bahamas Police Force for neglecting its job.
Alluding to recent comments made by Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, suggesting that the investigation was stalled because no one filed a complaint against the two hit men, Mr. Smith expressed dismay.
The GBHRA president in a written statement insisted the investigation should have indeed already been carried out, with attention on Mr. Nygard and Mr. Keod Smith.
“The Grand Bahama Human Rights Association (GBHRA) has always supported, and continues to support, the crucial and valiant work of the officers and leadership of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. We have lauded Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade in particular as an exemplary defender of fairness and justice throughout his distinguished career,” Mr. Smith noted.
“It is therefore with profound regret that we express our bafflement and dismay at the commissioner’s recent comments regarding the stalled investigation into threats against the lives and safety of members of the environmental group Save the Bays,” he said.
In light of this, the GBHRA, on behalf of STB, is seeking clarification on a few points.
“In suggesting the investigation has stalled because no one filed a complaint against Livingston Bullard or Wilsner Davilma, the Commissioner has displayed a clear misapprehension about the fundamental nature of this matter. The fact is, Bullard and Davilma are whistleblowers, not perpetrators,” Mr. Smith said.
“STB members have no complaint to make against these men. The complaints have always been against Peter Nygard and Keod Smith who, it is alleged in official court documents, hired Bullard and Davilma to harm or kill STB members,” he continued.
“Nygard and Smith have been named in repeated official complaints and are the subject of a wealth of detailed evidence in the possession of the police, yet officers have apparently failed to interview or question these individuals in any way,” Mr. Smith added.
Mr. Smith said that he submitted a letter to the commissioner in which he requested a discussion on behalf of STB members affected, to which he said he has not gotten a response.
“The police only ever sought to interview STB members after they reported certain urgent and very recent threats to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). All earlier attempts to harass, intimidate or harm STB members were not investigated in any way, as far as we can tell – this despite repeated official complaints made to police dating back to February 2015.” Mr. Smith said.
“It would seem that the police only became interested in talking to the affected parties after international scrutiny was brought to bear on the matter. Perhaps if STB’s complaints had been taken seriously in the first place, the murder-for-hire plot and subsequent threats might have been prevented,” he added.
“Over the past few years, STB members have been subjected to a vicious and unrelenting hate campaign on social media. The RBPF has taken action against several individuals for threatening social media behaviour, yet has allowed STB’s attackers to continue unchecked. I would respectfully ask the Commissioner to explain why only certain people are allowed to savage names and reputations of individuals with impunity,” he said.The investigation into the murder plot against certain STB members dates back to March 2016 and official complaints by STB members to police go as far as February 2015.
Meantime, the president said both the GBHRA and STB remain at the disposal of Commissioner Greenslade and are prepared to meet with him to discuss the matter.
