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Tag: Rivers Rerun

  • Rivers Rerun: INEC confirms outbreak of violence, says 25 workers hospitalized

    Rivers Rerun: INEC confirms outbreak of violence, says 25 workers hospitalized

    The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC on Monday confirmed the outbreak of violence in the just concluded Rivers supplementary elections held on Saturday in Etche that lead to the hospitalization of over 25 of its workforce.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak, told newsmen in Port Harcourt that the victims were attacked and wounded by Rivers people.

    According to him, one of the victims regained consciousness on Sunday.

    ”This is one area that Nigerians should ask questions: over 25 INEC staff members are in hospital today because the people of Rivers State decided to either kill or wound them.

    ”They were all beaten up because they went to those villages to conduct an election.

    ”Let the people of Rivers State tell us the offence of any of them.

    ”What did they do? They were bringing materials for the election; they decided to descend on them, beat them up, collect their personal belongings and run away,” he said.

    Ikoiwak noted that the victims were on official duties and needed a peaceful environment to achieve success.

    He called on Nigerians to condemn the alleged attack.

    “It is very sad. None of them was beaten up in his home but where they went to conduct an election.

    ”Why shouldn’t Nigerians discuss that? Why should people sent to conduct an election be beaten up and their belongings taken away from them?” he asked.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that about 700 staff members of the commission were mobilised for the supplementary legislative election in Etche.

    TheNewsGuru.com also reports that the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC had withdrawn from partaking in the supplementary elections few weeks back following issues of security concerns.

     

    NAN

  • Rivers Rerun: Police arrest 50 suspected thugs in Etche

    Rivers Rerun: Police arrest 50 suspected thugs in Etche

    A group of boys numbering about 50, suspected to be political thugs have been arrested by security agents in Ulakwo Ward 13 for allegedly trying to disrupt the on- going legislative election in Etche.

    The boys were seen sitting on the ground on Saturday, surrounded by some military and policemen.

    They were alleged to have been arrested from different units of the Ward.

    Reacting to the incident, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in charge of Rivers, Mr Ikoiwak Aniedi urged the media to focus more on electoral violence in Nigeria.

    He said that while the Commission was saddled with the responsibility of conducting elections, the issue of electoral violence should equally be considered.

    Aniedi stressed the need for journalists to report exactly what they witnessed during elections.

    This, he noted would go a long in checking some of the violence perpetrated during elections.

    He, however, said that the police would brief the commission officially on the situation on ground.

    At Obite Ward 10, Unit 3, the attempt of some political thugs to snatch a bag of electoral materials from INEC officials was repelled by the police.

    The electoral official, who declined to disclose her name, informed NAN that the election was peaceful in the unit except for the incident.

    She said that when the result was about to be counted, “we saw some thugs rushing to us, we quickly packed all the materials in a bag’’.

    “But they struggled the bag with us and took it; fortunately, the police intervened and rescued the bag from them, gave it back to us and escorted us to INEC office in the area.’’

    The Police Spokesman in Rivers, DSP Nnamdi Omoni said that the police had not made any arrest yet, and so could not comment on what other security agents had done.

    The election is the conclusion of the 2015 general elections to fill up Etche state Constituency II and Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency seats.

    Elections into the legislative seats were postponed indefinitely following the violence that broke out during the general elections in the area in 2015.

     

    NAN

  • #RiversRerun: Court rejects Wike’s application to stop police probe

    #RiversRerun: Court rejects Wike’s application to stop police probe

    Following Governor Wike’s ex parte application seeking an order to nullify the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris’ letter ordering an investigation into acts of criminality during the December 10, 2016 rerun in the state, Justice Gabriel Kolawole of a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday rejected the application.

    The judge however directed that the defendants be put on notice.

    The judge directed further in his ruling that the defendants, after being served with the court processes, should appear in court on January 30 to show cause on why the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs in their motion ex parte should not be granted.

    The two plaintiffs, who filed the suit, are the Office of the Governor of Rivers State (first plaintiff) and Wike in person (second plaintiff), while the defendants are the Inspector-General of Police, the State Security Services and a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Damian Okoro.

    According to reports, the Inspector-General of Police was said to have sent the letter dated December 20, 2016 to Governor Wike.

    The letter, entitled ‘Investigation into allegations of crimes committed during the last rerun elections in Rivers State’, was said to have, among others, requested the governor “to furnish the police investigative team with all necessary information and exhibits that may assist the team in the investigation.”

    The IGP had stated in the letter that “the purview of the investigation will cover allegations of bribes taken, several brazen murder incidents (including that of serving police officers), reports of gross human rights abuses, acts of sabotage/terrorism, kidnapping for ransom and ballot box snatching, all of which were perpetrated in connivance with several federal and state civil servants as well as highly placed politicians within and outside the state.”

    Earlier before the judge’s ruling, the governor’s lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), had while arguing the ex parte motion on Monday, urged the court to grant an order of interim injunction restraining the defendants “or their agents from enforcing or executing the matters contained in the letter written to Governor Wike by the IGP on December 20, 2016.”

    Ozekhome told Justice Kolawole that the action of the police constituting a panel to investigate the crisis of the rerun in Rivers State was “illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional and null and void”.

    He submitted that it would be in the interest of justice for the court to set aside the IGP’s letter and direct the police authority to await the outcome of the commission of inquiry set up by the governor on the issue.

    Ozekhome argued that the terms of reference of the panel of investigation set up by the police “clearly suggested” that the goal of the intended investigation was already pre-determined and biased or likely to be biased against Wike, having regard to the numerous conclusions already reached in the said letter.

    He therefore urged the court to nullify the content of the letter by the Inspector-General of Police.

    Recall that the December 10 rerun elections in Rivers was marred with violence and the police had said it would go ahead to investigate and prosecute all that have a hand in the violence.

  • BREAKING: #RiversRerun: PDP’s Sekibo wins Rivers East Senatorial seat

    BREAKING: #RiversRerun: PDP’s Sekibo wins Rivers East Senatorial seat

    The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate for Rivers East Senatorial District, in the Saturday’s rerun election, George Sekibo has been declared winner of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

    The INEC returning officer for the area, Oji Ekumankama, declared Sekibo winner of the Saturday’s poll at the council hall, Port Harcourt, venue of the collation, on Monday.

    According to Ekumankama, the PDP candidate in the rerun election secured 93,098 votes ahead of Andrew Uchendu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who polled 34,193 votes.

    More results later…

  • Bloodbath in Rivers: Hoodlums attack police van, behead DSP, orderly

    Bloodbath in Rivers: Hoodlums attack police van, behead DSP, orderly

    Two policemen have been reportedly killed by hoodlums in Rivers state, Nigeria on Saturday at Ujju community near Omoku in Ogba/Edema/Ndoni council area, during the Rivers rerun elections in the state.

    The General Officer Commanding (GOC) the newly-created 6 Division of the Army in Port Harcourt, Major General Kasimu Abdulkarim, made this disclosure Sunday.

    Abdulkarim said the hoodlums snatched the police patrol vehicle and weapons, killing DSP Alkali Mohammed, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Mobile Police Unit 48, and his orderly in the process.

    He said while three policemen escaped, five were still “missing in action” in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers, where the state’s Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Felix Obuah, hails from.

    Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, and Obuah had earlier accused the Army and policemen of killing three PDP members (two in Bodo-Ogoni in Gokana Local Government Area and one in Tai-Ogoni Local Government Area) aiding All Progressives Congress (APC) members to hijack electoral materials.

    The GOC, however, declared that the allegations made by some respected politicians regarding deep involvement of soldiers during the elections were false and aimed at tarnishing the army’s image.

    To Abdulkarim, PDP leaders, “weighty” allegations that soldiers were involved in ballot box snatching, illegal escort of some politicians, arrest and detention of voters could cause members of the public to view soldiers negatively, hence the need to adequately inform the public on the true perspective. He said the public should consider the allegations as “mere farce to garner sympathy”.

    The GOC maintained that the 6 Division remained apolitical, adding that its soldiers provided perimeter defence to ward off hoodlums and miscreants.

    “The most brutal incident occurred (during Saturday’s rerun) at Ujju community near Omoku in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA of Rivers State, where a police patrol team was ambushed. In the ambush, 10 policemen scampered into the bush. The Mobile Police organized a rescue mission.

    “Regrettably, the team discovered that DSP Alkali Mohammed of Mobile Police Unit 48 was beheaded along with his orderly. The patrol vehicle was taken away with weapons. Three policemen escaped. Five were missing in action.

    “This is the same area where soldiers of 34 Brigade were ambushed on November 20, 2016, where a soldier was killed. Also, on November 21, 2016, four personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were killed and their weapons carted away.

    “These attacks are reasonable evidence of violations of breach of law and order which portray the area as a flashpoint. Despite this barbarism, soldiers acted with civility and professionalism, guaranteeing peaceful elections.

    “Nigerian Army, as a respected institution with constitutional responsibility to safeguard lives and property, could not watch miscreants and hoodlums abducting, maiming and killing innocent citizens, especially in senseless attacks on uniform personnel,” he said.

  • Rivers re-run: Buhari canvases for peaceful, credible poll

    Rivers re-run: Buhari canvases for peaceful, credible poll

    …says elections shouldn’t be a ‘do-or-die’ affair

    In a bid to calm the already tensed atmosphere in Rivers State over the rerun elections scheduled to hold on Saturday December 10, President Muhammadu Buhari has called on politicians in the state not to see the election as a “do-or-die” affair.

    Buhari gave the advice while calling for peaceful and orderly conduct of the Saturday’s polls.

    In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, on Friday, the President appealed to politicians and their supporters in Rivers State to put the “higher interest of the people of the state in mind, as they go to the polls on Saturday.”

    Buhari also called on all electoral stakeholders to ensure that tomorrow’s elections are conducted without “rigging, violence and intimidation of opponents and electoral officials.

    The statement reads in path: “He also enjoins the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to do all within its powers to give transparency and fairness to the electoral exercise in Rivers State.

    “The rerun elections should not be seen as a do-or-die affair to the extent that people will be killed, maimed and property destroyed in a mindless display of crude primitive instincts.

    “Innocent blood should never be sacrificed on the altar of political contest for temporary power”.

    The President, urged security and law enforcement agencies to exhibit, “professionalism and non-partisanship in the discharge of their constitutional duties even in the face of extreme provocations”

    However, he directed security agents to deal decisively with “trouble makers” and those bent on “violating the sanctity of the electoral process.”

    The President maintained that his administration is committed to ensuring the conduct of free, fair and credible election, restating ”the commitment of his administration to deepening democracy in the country by enthroning a legacy of respect for the wishes of the people through free, fair and credible elections devoid of intimidation and violence throughout the federation.”

  • Rivers Rerun: Wike calls for prayers for peaceful polls

    Rivers Rerun: Wike calls for prayers for peaceful polls

     

    Rivers State Governor , Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has called on Churches in the state to pray for violence-free rerun elections on December 10.

    Speaking during the 2016 Power Conference of the Assemblies of God Church on Sunday at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium , Port Harcourt, Governor Wike said that the prayers of the church would help to make the elections , free and fair .

    The governor noted that it is also necessary for the church members to troop out to vote candidates of their choice, saying that Christians must not stay away from determining who will be their representatives .

    He said: “I appeal to the Church to pray for peaceful rerun elections in our state. I also call on our people to come out in their numbers to cast their votes “.

    The governor announced that the contract for the construction of the State Ecumenical Centre has been awarded to Julius Berger .

    He said that the Ecumenical Create will serve as a unifying factor for Christians through the provision ofa a worship that will serve all denominations.

    In his sermon , International Evangelist , Rev Uma Ukpai commended the Governor for his developmental strides.

    He called on Governor Wike to continue to provide leadership for the old Eastern Nigeria for the greater development of the area.

  • Focus on Rivers Rerun elections to stem planned electoral violence, Wike urges international community

    Focus on Rivers Rerun elections to stem planned electoral violence, Wike urges international community

    Rivers State Governor , Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has called on the international community to take serious interest in the plot by the Police to start the indiscriminate arrests of PDP supporters few days to the December 10 rerun elections .

    The governor declared that through the state established intelligence channel , he was in possession of the list of PDP supporters earmarked for arrest by the police before the rerun elections .

    He spoke on Wednesday during the flag off of the Chokocho-Umuechem-Ozuzu Road in Etche Local Government Area .

    He said : “They have written the names of those they want to arrest. In Khana Local Government Area alone, they have earmarked 103 persons for arrest.

    “You didn’t arrest them before now, but you want to arrest them at this point because election is approaching “.

    The governor called on the people of the state to resist any such politically motivated arrests , pointing out that such actions aimed at promoting the interest of an unpopular APC will not be tolerated.

    He said : “Now that it is obvious that the APC cannot win, they should forget about these rerun elections and wait for another time. There is no need creating crisis when the APC is unpopular in Rivers State “.

    Governor Wike noted that it is the fraudulent plots of the APC in liaison with the police and INEC that generates tension, which could lead to violence .

    “We want free and fair elections .They should allow our people to choose their leaders in peace because nobody will be allowed to rig elections here”, he said.

    On the Chokocho-Umuechem-Ozuzu Road, Governor Wike said that the state government is committed to improving the economic fortunes of the Etche people .

    He said that the road contract was previously awarded to Mr Ogbonna Nwuke , an APC Chieftain who pocketed the money and abandoned the work.

    He said: “This is a day of reckoning . This is a time to punish Mr Nwuke who collected the money for the Chokocho-Umuechem-Ozuzu Road , refused to execute the project, but is now seeking the mandate of the Etche people “.

    Governor Wike called on Etche people to vote PDP candidates in the rerun elections as that will help in consolidating the development of the state .

    In his address , the Commissioner for Works , Mr Bathuel Iheanyichukwu said that the Chokocho-Umuechem-Ozuzu Road is 18.5 kilometres in length. He said the road will revive the comatose economy from the area.