Heavy shooting was reported outside the office of the Department of State Security, DSS, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday. While the details of the shooting and the mastermind(s) could not be ascertained as at the time of writing this report, the place was full of heavy security presence, shortly after the shootout. However, Governor Nyesom Wike, while confirming the incident, said an aide of his Chief of 1Staff, Emeka Woke, lost his life in the shootout. Speaking with newsmen after the incident, the governor blamed it on what he said was the desperation of some politicians. But the governor was countered by the Director General of NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside, who claimed that he and some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state were the target of the shooting The governor alleged that the politicians hatched a plan in Isiokpo and had intended to execute it at the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, along Aba Expressway, Port Harcourt.
He said: “I detailed my Chief of Staff to be following them. But, when they reached the INEC office, they drove past. I told my Chief of Staff to continue to follow them. They continued up to UTC Junction where they started shooting. “I called the Brigade Commander thrice about when I heard of the plan, that they (gunmen) were pursuing INEC staff to snatch result sheets,” However, Peterside alleged that two jeeps, belonging to the Chief of Staff, carried two unknown gunmen who trailed him, the state APC Chairman, Dr Davies Ikanya and Honourable Asita O. Asita to the UTC Junction and opened fire on them. He said: “The car carrying me did a detour to the DSS office in Port Harcourt. At the DSS office gate, where I drove to seek refuge, the unknown gunmen opened fire again at the SSS men.
“The exchange of fire between DSS and the assailants lasted for more than 30 minutes.” There was mild drama earlier in the day at the Mile 1 police station, Diobu, when Governor Wike confronted former Governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi and Dr. Peterside for allegedly plotting to hijack the result sheet of Ward 10, Port Harcourt Constituency II. An ad hoc staff of INEC, who lectures at the University of Port Harcourt, had allegedly absconded with the election result sheet and other voting materials since Saturday. The Divisional Police Officer, DPO, of Mkpolu Police Station, who was in charge of security during voting in the area, had allegedly raised the alarm over the disappearance, until she surfaced at the Mile I police station. At the police station were Amaechi, Petetside and acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari and Wike. At the scene, there were over 200 supporters of both the PDP and APC.. From the police station, they all drove to the State CID.Meanwhile, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has cancelled last Saturday’s parliamentary re-run election in two more local governments in Rivers State. This brought to eight the local governments where elections were cancelled. State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak, speaking in Port Harcourt yesterday said elections in Etche and Asari-Toru Local Governments have also been cancelled. Ikoiwak had on Saturday announced the suspension of election in Tai, Khana, Gokana, Eleme, Andoni and Bonny Local Government Areas, on grounds of widespread irregularities and violence. The REC had said the suspended re-run elections will be held yesterday, but later rescinded his decision.
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Emma Anyanwu, had called for the outright cancellation of results from 14 units in Etche Local Government, citing violence and electoral malpractice. Briefing newsmen Ikoiwak said: “Further to our earlier pronouncement on the suspension of the re-run elections in the six (6) local government areas of Khana, Bonny, Gokana, Andoni, Tai and Eleme, following disturbances and violence that impeded the electoral process in those parts of the state, it has become necessary to suspend the elections in Etche and Asari-Toru local government areas for the same reasons. “The suspension of the election is necessitated by the need to forestall breakdown of law and order or loss of lives and property in the event of further aggravation of the crisis. “The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, needs to put all stakeholders on notice that we are still studying the situation in the other 15 local government areas of the state, where collations of results are currently going on.
Our correspondent gathered that INEC would not conduct a re-run of the national and state legislative elections in the cancelled areas until it has conducted a staff audit of its ad-hoc personnel deployed for the exercise. Sources at the commission said some of the ad-hoc personnel deployed to the riverine areas were yet to return to the state headquarters in Port Harcourt. A source said the commission is worried that it has not been able to make telephone contact with some of the ad-hoc personnel, even as some whose phone rang did not answer. Nigerian Army declared yesterday that it arrested Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Chief Kenneth Kobani, for allegedly disrupting the re-run election. The declaration came, even as the Zone 6 Command of the Nigerian Police said 24 persons were arrested from different parts of the state for various criminal and electoral offenses during the re-run poll. Commander, 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Brig. Gen. Stephenson Olabanji, who spoke to newsmen at the Police Headquarters in Port Harcourt, said the law of the country respects nobody, no matter the person’s position in the society. Olabanji said: “Many people were arrested yesterday for disrupting the electoral process and the law is not meant for just the lower cadre alone.
“No matter who you are, if you go against the law, you will definitely face the music. “There is nothing like being Secretary to the State Government, many people were arrested as you have been told. A lot of people were arrested.” The Army Commander denied claims by the state government that some of its commissioners and other top officials were manhandled during the election. “If you say arrest, we can say yes, but there was nothing like manhandling. We are meant to protect civilians, not to manhandle them,” he explained. It was, however, gathered that SSG has been released. Also speaking, Assistant Inspector-General of Police, AIG, in charge of Zone 6, Mr. Baba Adisa Bolanta, said those arrested during the election, including two females are currently undergoing interrogation at the State Criminal Investigations Department, SCID, Port Harcourt. Bolanta said: “It is pertinent I let you know that we have 24 suspects comprising 22 males and 2 females in police custody, who were arrested from different parts of the state. “They are presently undergoing interrogation on allegations of criminal or electoral offences or both.” The AIG insisted that only four deaths were recorded in the state during the election, pointing out that two persons were killed at Buguma, in Asari-Toru Local Government Area, while two others were killed at Nonwa-Tai, and Omuanwa communities, in Tai and Ikwerre Local Government Areas, respectively. He said: “I am startled this morning after seeing outrageous figure of deaths associated with the elections as dished out by the media. “To put the records straight, four deaths were recorded with two in Buguma, while Nonwa-Tai and Omuanwa each recorded one.”
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