19th March, 2015
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Less 24 hours after the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Dan Bature, accused Governor Chibuike Amaechi of attacking the command because the command refused to bow to pressure to release hardened criminals, thousands of members of All Progressives Congress, APC, have taken to the streets in protest.
The protesters, led by 23 Local government Caretaker Committee chairmen Thursday morning marched to the State Police Command Headquarters, calling for justice and fairness in handling politically motivated arrests of APC members.
The peaceful protesters who were carrying placards with varying inscriptions berated the state Police Command for re-arresting and detaining Charles Anyanwu, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Etche Local Government Council and others despite being cleared by a Federal High Court and granted bail.
The council chairmen who were also joined by Tony Okocha, massed at the Police Headquarters, Moscow Road, and demanded for fair treatment.
The protest which started as early as 7 am saw the protesters trekking along Port Harcourt/Aba Road to the State Police Command Headquarters.
The peaceful protest almost turned violent when police trucks were driven menacingly through the crowd of protesters to disperse them.
Some of the placards carried by the protesters read: “Police stop arresting us”; “Treat APC, PDP equally”; “Police Stop Killing of our Members”; “You are killing us and calling us cultists, hardened criminals”; “Police don’t dare rig election for PDP”; etc.
The protesters also marched to the state headquarters of the the Department of State Security Services, DSS, where complaints were registered.
Emmanuel Chinda, Commissioner for Agriculture and chieftain of APC, said the protest is to bring to the fore the pre-2006 era when the state was lockdown by militants, ethnic militias and gun bearing criminals are now on the prowl again with the backing of the the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
He said that after the botched Okrika APC rally that led to the killing of a serving policeman and over 50 persons were injured no one has been arrested.
“Are the police in Rivers State an arm of PDP, especially now we are about go for elections?” he queried.