Anti Amaechi protesters Stormed Porthacourt------------------ •Threaten to block airport, oil wells •APC warns of impending anarchy.The spate of protests in Rivers State took a new dimension Tuesday as kinsmen of the governor, Chibuike Amaechi, from his Ikwerre area marched on the streets of Port Harcourt over the governor’s call for the redeployment of the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu. The anti-Amaechi protesters from the four Ikwerre Local Government Areas of Ikwerre, Emohua, Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt, under the aegis of Ikwerre People’s Assembly, marched on the Port Harcourt-Aba Road before occupying the strategic GRA Junction from about 8 am to 9.30 am. They caused a massive traffic gridlock on the major road in the city. They sang and danced to anti-Amaechi songs and carried placards, some of which read: “Thank you I-G for leaving Mbu for us; We have a brother in Jonathan”; “A South-south Man Cannot Betray His Brother”; “Tinubu Enough is Enough”; “We Will Not Support Impunity”; “Leave CP Mbu Alone”. The protesters were guarded by a team of policemen, led by a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), David Osuani. Addressing the crowd of protesters, the spokesman of Ikwerre People’s Assembly, Mr. Chima Boms, said Mbu had done well in the state and had ended the victimisation of political opponents by the governor. He said: “CP Mbu in our estimation has performed creditably and deserves commendation. We therefore request that he continues to serve in Rivers State for the good of the people. “Consequently, the Ikwerre People’s Assembly will resist any attempt to redeploy CP Mbu as commissioner of police from Rivers State as such a move will take us back to the dark era. “The assumption of duty by Mbu as commissioner of police in Rivers State has effectively put to an end the reign of impunity, lawlessness, harassment and the abuse of the fundamental rights of the citizens by Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. “Mbu since resumption of office has demonstrated an uncanny zeal, dexterity and enthusiasm in the art of policing the state, hence the peaceful and serene atmosphere pervasive today in the state which ironically and indeed inexplicably does not go down well with the governor of the state. “Rivers people and indeed Nigerians will recall that prior to the assumption of office by Mbu in Rivers State, there was indiscriminate arrest and illegal detention, harassment and abuse of the fundamental rights of the citizens by Governor Amaechi.” The group also said Mbu had demonstrated a high sense of professionalism in ensuring the safety of lives and property in the face of what they described as extreme provocation. “Any redeployment of CP Mbu at this time will be asking for the total shutdown of all entry points to Rivers State, including the international airport which the Ikwerre people play host to, and all the oil wells, flow stations and oil facilities located in Ikwerre land,” the group added. The group also condemned what it termed the “theatrics and antics of Senator Magnus Abe orchestrated to achieve his inordinate ambition to emerge as governorship candidate of the APC and to malign and tarnish the image of the indefatigable commissioner of police.” They also thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for the trust and confidence reposed in their kinsman, the supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, as well as the recent appointment of an indigene of Rivers State, Major General Kenneth Minimah, as the Chief of Army Staff. Meanwhile, the police in Port Harcourt have confirmed the arrest of the Chairmen of Khana and Gokana Local Government Councils, Hon. Gregory Nwidam and Hon. Demua Ledee Demua, respectively over the shooting that scuttled the rally of the Save Rivers Movement (SRM) in Bori last Sunday. Counsel to SRM, Mr. Ken Atsuwete, had on Monday night raised the alarm that Nwidam had been arrested but the police denied knowledge of the arrest. The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Muhammad (DSP), yesterday confirmed the arrest of the chairmen. A text message he sent to THISDAY simply read: “I can now confirm to you the arrest of two local government chairmen for questioning in connection with the attack on the ill-fated rally at Khana.” However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned of the impending anarchy in Rivers that may have far-reaching consequences beyond the state, unless the president urgently called the warring parties to order. The party said Jonathan should take steps to rein in his supporters who, backed by a grossly partisan police, have now resorted to bringing in ex-militants from neighbouring states to attack innocent people in Rivers. In a statement issued yesterday by its interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, APC cautioned that the patience of the people of Rivers is wearing thin, and there was an increasing possibility that they may resort to self-help, which could only result in a blood bath, having lost confidence in the ability of the police to protect them. “Because we abhor anarchy, which is the very antithesis of democracy, we hereby call, for the umpteenth time, on President Jonathan to act today to stop the looming anarchy in Rivers unless of course he is bent on throwing the country he was elected to govern into chaos,” it said. APC also warned that the decision of the desperate pro-Jonathan politicians and their supporters in Rivers to resort to ferrying in ex-militants from Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom States to cause mayhem in Rivers and make it ungovernable for Amaechi would have far-reaching consequences in the months ahead, most serious of which is that it will revive militancy not only in Rivers but in the entire South-South. “The ex-militants, who are being hired daily by the anarchists in Rivers today, will turn against them and the people tomorrow when, one way or the other, the present situation in the state is resolved. “The outcome will be a resurgence of insecurity, including hostage taking and attacks on oil and other infrastructure, in the entire region. This is why we are warning those who believe they are having a free rein today to tarry a while and retrace their steps,” the party said. It expressed absolute shock that a president who has been widely quoted as saying his political ambition was not worth the blood of any citizen was now standing by, pretending to be oblivious to the happenings around him, as the same citizens’ blood is being used to water his ambition for a second term in office. “This president has deliberately refused to listen to the calls by numerous individuals and organisations, including the opposition parties, labour unions and the National Assembly for peace to be allowed to reign in Rivers. “He has tacitly egged on the police to champion the worsening impunity in the state and even thumbed his nose at the constitution, while the Police Service Commission has suddenly lost its steam and is even defending the arrowhead of the anarchy in Rivers. “It is instructive that while the police have stood by and allowed hired ex-militants to attack innocent citizens whose only offence is that they are exercising their constitutional rights of freedom of association, movement and speech, the same police have provided protection for pro-Jonathan and anti-Amaechi elements who have turned the state into a battle ground. “Twice in eight days, peaceful rallies organised by the Save Rivers Movement have been brutally broken up by police-backed hoodlums, who shot at innocent citizens including women and children; a serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been shot and is now being treated in a foreign hospital and, as we write this press release, hoodlums brought in from Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom have gathered at different points in Port Harcourt to protest any attempt to remove Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu, the man who is now using the police against the same people they are paid to protect, APC said. The party also chronicled, for the record, the series of impunity that have helped prepare the ground for the looming anarchy in Rivers. “It is in this light that we reiterate our fears of a looming anarchy, which is the outcome of months of impunity, as the man who swore to an oath to ensure the welfare and security of all citizens - the raison detre for any government - has now become the quiet sponsor of violence against the same citizens. It is time to stop the madness in Rivers!” APC said.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 04:07:54 +0000
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