By Our Reporter
The Executive Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, said he has successfully foiled an alleged attempt by the Nigerian Police to seize the headquarters of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), ahead of tomorrow’s local government elections in the state.
The incident which began in the early hours of this morning, saw a group of policemen, allegedly led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), attempting to scale the gates of the RSIEC premises and force entry into the strong room, where the electoral materials were securely stored.
Security personnels stationed at the facility noticed the suspicious activities and swiftly alerted RSIEC officials, who in turn contacted Governor Fubara. Acting immediately, the Governor led a high-level delegation, including top government officials, lawmakers from both the National Assembly and the Rivers State House of Assembly, as well as key political stakeholders, to the scene.
Governor Fubara’s prompt action successfully halted the alleged police operation, ensuring that the electoral materials remained secure and the scheduled election could proceed without disruption. In a viral video been circulated in the Social media, an obviously furious Fubara carpeted the Inspector-General Kayode Egbetokun, sating that the state and it’s people will never again tolerate the excesses of the police, who according to him, were been dictated to by one Rivers man who pulls the shot from Abuja.
“From what I heard, that one DC Operations brought them here to withdraw the policemen that were already here protecting this place so that new officers will take over the place. But I have to say this, on a very strong note, we’ve been taking enough nonsense from this institution”, he said.
Adding that; “everybody is aware of the court judgment, and even the judgment as they call it, the ruling — did the ruling specify anywhere that election should not hold? It said, don’t give voters register. What are we doing with it? Okay, the police, don’t provide security. Is it the same thing as burking the election? To scale the gates of the RSIEC premises and force entry into the strong room, where the electoral materials were securely stored.
Attempts by our correspondent to contact the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, were unsuccessful. Calls, a text message, and WhatsApp messages sent to his mobile number were unanswered as of press time.
