27th March, 2015
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Hon. Emmanuel Deeyah, a former member of Federal House of Representatives and All Progressives Congress (APC) and a state agent along with two other APC agents have been arrested by a team of the Rivers state policeman.
According to a statement signed by Mrs Ibim Semenitari, the Director of Communications for GreaterTogether campaign organization said the agents were arrested inside the INEC premises.
It said that INEC invited all agents of the political parties for a preliminary election briefing for which Hon. Emma Deeyah, a two-term member of the House of Representatives and a former Commissioner in Rivers state went there as a stakeholder and chieftain of APC.
According to the statement, sadly, it was an INEC staff that identified Hon. Deeyah to the policemen before he was immediately arrested and whisked away.
When Hon. Deeyah insisted on knowing why he was been arrested, he was simply told that “Its CP’s Directive”.
The statement further said that Deeyah went to see how INEC materials were being distributed when he was whisked away.
APC had few days ago raised alarm that there was a grand plan to arrest and detain key APC chieftains until after the elections.
The police has since refused to give reasons why he was arrested.
A source said Deeyah has been subsequently spotted at the Swift Operations Squad (SOS) Office of the Police command where he is currently detained.
Mrs Gisela Khan, the Rivers state Resident Electoral Commission, REC, claimed ignorance of the arrest of Hon. Deeyah. “The man I know as the agent is one black jovial man. The man arrested should say why he was arrested. I am not aware of it,” she said.
Ahmad Muhammad, PPRO of the Police command has not reacted to enquiries on the arrest.
Meanwhile, he has dismissed alleged assassination attempt on the life of Governor Chibuike Amaechi at Rumuolumili in Obio-Akpor local Government area during a door-to-door campaign in area.
“It was the security aides of the Governor that started shooting indiscriminately into air causing panic. There was no assassination attempt on his Excellency,” the PPRO claimed.