The Senate has started investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the alleged shooting of Senator Magnus Abe by the police on Sunday at a rally in Port Harcourt.
This was disclosed on Tuesday by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Police, Senator Igwe Nwagwu.
Nwagwu told newsmen in Port Harcourt that the committee was in Rivers State on a fact-finding assignment surrounding the incident.
“We are here in Rivers State to carry out fact-finding on the incident that happened last Sunday where it was alleged that the police shot tear gas and rubber bullets, which incidentally, also affected Senator Magnus Abe.
“We have not concluded our investigation yet; when we conclude our investigation, we will submit our report to the National Assembly for their deliberation and resolution on the matter,” he said.
The chairman said the committee would meet the state Commissioner of Police during its investigation.
The Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Mr Tony Okocha, told the committee that the police allegedly used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a crowd that gathered to hold a rally.
He said the Save Rivers Movement (SRM), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), had applied for police permission to hold a sensitisation rally at the premises of the state College of Arts and Science, Port Harcourt, on January 12.
Okocha said when he got to the venue, there was heavy police presence and that the police allegedly fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
He said the rubber bullet hit him on the left leg and also hit Abe, stressing that Abe was rushed to the hospital and later flown abroad for further treatment.
