Joseph Mbu
THE
Rivers State Police Command has arrested two local government chairmen
in the state in connection with the violent disruption of a rally by the
Save Rivers Movement in Bori, Khana Local Government Area.
The council chairmen were identified as Mr. Greg Nwidad (Khana Local Government) and Mr. Demua Demua (Gokana Local Government).
A Government House source in Port
Harcourt said Nwidad was the first to be invited by the state Police
Command for interrogation over the shooting at the SRM’s rally.
The source said Nwidad, who had thought
he would be allowed to go after police interrogation, was detained at
the GRA Police Division in Port Harcourt.
It was gathered that Demua was later
detained in the same manner after being invited by the police on Tuesday
for questioning over the botched rally in Khana.
Gokana and Khana Local Government Areas are among the four councils in Ogoniland.
The source said, “The Khana council
chairman was the first to be invited, arrested and detained by the
police on Monday. His counterpart from Gokana was also arrested in a
similar fashion. As I speak with you, two of them are being detained by
the police.
“This is wrong in a democracy. We all
know that the chairmen of Gokana and Khana cannot disrupt the rally they
took part in organising. The arrest of the two council chairmen by the
police is unnecessary.”
Confirming the incident, the State
Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, said the two
chairmen were arrested in connection with the attack on the participants
of a rally in Bori and Khana Local Government Areas.
Mohammad said he would be able to ascertain if the two chairmen would be charged to court after the end of police investigation.
Mohammad said, “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 in Khana.
“But I cannot tell you now if they
(council chairmen) would be charged to court. We can only talk on that
at the end of our investigation.”
Meanwhile, the lawmaker representing
Rivers South-East in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe, has
accused the Federal Government of arming youths to unleash mayhem in
Ogoniland.
Abe, who is recuperating in a London
hospital, after he was shot with rubber bullets by policemen at the
venue of a Save Rivers Movement’s rally, spoke on Tuesday through his
spokesman, Honour Sirawo.
The lawmaker lamented that rather than
implement the United Nations Environment Programme report on Ogoniland,
the Federal Government was allegedly arming Ogoni youths with guns to
kill their fellow human beings.
Abe said the law would take its course, no matter the circumstances.
He condemned Sunday’s attack on the
supporters of the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, at Bori in
Khana Local Government Area.
“Every gun has a life span of over 100
years, our politics may change. As today’s friends become opponents
tomorrow, the guns will also change hands; but they will still remain
lethal, even against their present owners.
“We have faced violence before and
emerged victorious and sued for forgiveness as well as focus on set
goals. The law, as impossible as it may look today, will one day take
its course,” he said.
Meanwhile, a member of the House of
Representatives, Ali Madaki, on Tuesday sought the sacking of the
Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, by President
Goodluck Jonathan over the lingering crisis in Rivers State.
Madaki, in his motion on the floor of
the House, also prayed that the Police Service Commission be made to
dismiss the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu, for the
same reason.
The legislator urged the House to give Jonathan and the PSC two weeks ultimatum to remove the police chiefs.
Madaki, while arguing his motion, told members of the House that the police had taken sides in the crisis in Rivers State.
He accused the police of doing the bidding of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.
Madaki added that Mbu should be dismissed “for all the crimes he committed in Rivers State.”
He said the “recent shooting of Senator Mganus Abbe” was a reference point.
But the motion was objected to by the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor.
Ogor argued that it would be unfair to
demand the removal of the IGP and Mbu when they had not been given the
opportunity of a “fair hearing.”
He said, “Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution provides for the principle of fair hearing.
“We may pass a resolution that will become an embarrassment to the House.
“How do you dismiss someone when you have not given him the opportunity to be heard?”
However, the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal,
referred the matter to the Joint Committee on Rules/Business, Judiciary
and Justice to deliberate on the objection raised by Ogor.
The committee was given two weeks to report back on the issue.
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