APC, Police bicker over Senator Abe’s shooting

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently put an end to the worsening reign of impunity in  Rivers State, which is being carried out under his watch by those who are obviously acting to impress him and the First Lady.

In a statement in Lagos on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the call has  become even more imperative, following the irresponsible act of brigandage by the police, which stopped a peaceful and lawful rally billed for the Obio Akpor Local Government Area of the state on Sunday by the Save Rivers Movement (SRM), an organisation campaigning against the impunity of the PDP-controlled Federal Government against the government and people of Rivers State.

 

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”The police went to the venue of the rally, pulled down the erected canopies and fired tear gas at everyone around there and even into  nearby homes, with the result that five children are now feared to have died from suffocation due to this shameful Gestapo-style action of the police, who are being funded by taxpayers to protect the lives and property of the same citizens they are now brutalizing and  killing.

”Not only that, they injured the Chief of Staff to Governor Chibuike Amaechi and fired a supposed rubber bullet, at point blank range, at Senator Magnus Abe, who is now gravely injured. The Senator is  believed to have been deliberately targeted for attack by the police.

”We understand that the exceptional brutal clampdown on the planned rally by the police, who seem to have now surpassed even their own act  of brutality against the people of the state, was aimed at impressing the First Lady, believed to be due in Port Harcourt on the same day (Sunday),” it said.

The APC said there is no way a Commissioner of Police in any state  will be so bold as to be waging a war against an elected Governor and his aides/supporters if he is not empowered to do so by higher authorities, and that everyone knows that the impenitent Rivers Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu believes he is now the de facto Governor of Rivers because he has the support of the Presidency to exhibit

impudence.

”Mbu, who is going down in Nigeria’s history as a classic example of an officer of the law turned the biggest violator of the law, has not  only defied the resolutions of the National Assembly, he has also thumbed his nose at the ultimatum issued by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). He is the Alternate Inspector General of the Police who takes orders only from a conniving presidency,” the party said.

It said the only reason the impunity in Rivers could have continued unabated is because it is a dress rehearsal for what is being planned for 2015, hence the APC has continued to raise the alarm over the instigated crisis in Rivers.

”Since this reign of impunity started, the Rivers Governor has been barred from accessing his official residence by the police; Members of the State House of Assembly have been tear-gassed and harassed  endlessly; the plane owned by the state government has been grounded, using the institutions of state; and even a chartered plane bearing the Governor has been prevented from takeoff, not minding that the

member of the state House of Assembly which the plane was supposed to  be carrying was not on board. No one has apologized for this chutzpah.

”This is all happening under the watch of a President who has been widely quoted as saying his ambition is not worth the blood of any  Nigerian. The statement now rings hollow, considering what is happening in Rivers and elsewhere, which is widely regarded as a sign of things to come ahead of 2015.

”President Jonathan should act today to bring Rivers State and indeed  Nigeria back from the brink of lawlessness. His body language must discourage the likes of Mbu from turning Nigeria into a lawless nation. He must differentiate his position as the leader of the PDP from his perch as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,”  APC  said

Meanwhile, the Police described as false and alarming the APC statement that Abe was shot.

The Rivers Police Command said it was a blatant lie that its personnel shot and wounded Abe.

Its spokesman, Ahmad Muhammad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, (DSP), said in Port Harcourt that the police did not dispense any bullet while dispersing the rally.

He said the group was at the state College of Arts and Science for the rally when they were dispersed because they did not obtain a police permit.

“I can confirm to you that Sen. Magnus Abe was not shot. The police did not expend any single bullet while dispersing the crowd.

“It is not true. The police did not shoot the senator, we only used minimum force to disperse the crowd at the venue of the rally,’’ he said.

Mrs Ibim Semenitari, the Commissioner for Information and Communications, said in a statement on Sunday in Port Harcourt.

“Today’s attack on members of the Save Rivers Movement, a non governmental association, at the College of Arts and Science, Rumuola, Port Harcourt, Rivers State and especially the unprovoked shooting of Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, the senator representing Rivers South East senatorial district, is cause for worry and an indication of the length that the PDP is willing to go to silence opposing views.

“Rivers State Government, therefore, reiterates its call for the re-deployment of CP Mbu from Rivers State before he turns the state into a graveyard because of his intolerance and unprofessional behaviour,’’ she said.

The commissioner assured that the state government would continue to protect the interest of the people at all times.

“We appeal to our people to remain law abiding and not to take the laws into their own hands as we promise to continue to use all legitimate and legal means to guarantee the safety of our people and their rights to exist in Nigeria,’’ she said.

The Press Secretary to Abe, Mr Honour Sirawoo, said a rubber bullet hit Abe on the chest and was taken to hospital for treatment.

He said Abe had gone to supervise the preparations for the rally when the incident occurred at about 9 am on Sunday.

Dr Mckay Anyanwu, Medical Director of Krisany Hospital, where Abe was rushed to for treatment, told newsmen that the senator was brought to the hospital in a state of shock caused by low blood pressure.

“He was unable to talk or eat, and he was feeling restless as a result of traumatic shock.

“The implication is that there is haemorrhage; this is a blood trauma, it is not a sharp one,’’ he said.

 

 

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