Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) for Rivers State has accused Governor Nyesom Wike of allegedly masterminding a deadly attack on its Director General, Dr. Abiye Sekibo, in Port Harcourt.
The DG who spoke to journalists on the incident which he said happened a few minutes to 12 midnight last Friday, alleged that security agencies detailed to Governor Wike attacked him along Rainbow, Trans-Amadi axis of Port Harcourt city.
Sekibo explained that he was on his way to the proposed site for the presidential campaign rally of the PDP standard bearer, Abubakar Atiku and his running mate Ifeanyi Okowa at Trans-Amadi, after he received a call that the equipments for the rally were on fire, when suspected police thugs opened gun fire on his bullet proof vehicle.
According to the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Council DG, the men in the police uniform shattered his vehicle tyres and back seat window glasses with bullets.
Sekibo, who was in company of other members of the party PCC at the press briefing, said “At about 11:30p.m. to 12: midnight, I received a call, and the caller said, the equipment at the site that was being prepared for the PDP presidential rally are on fire.
“I decided to go there and see for myself, I left my house with three policemen. The location is Rainbow Town by Amadi-ama; as we approached the site, we saw a lineup of police hilux vehicles on the right side of the road and the policemen were looking at the fire.
“As we got close and about to tell my driver to stop so I can talk to the policemen, the next thing we saw was that those policemen who were watching the fire, opened fire on my vehicle, I quickly told my driver to keep going and not stop again, we were shot from all sides as we were escaping.
“As they were firing guns at us, I looked at the Hilux vehicles, they were police Hilux vehicles attached to the governor of Rivers State.
“They shot one of our front tyres, it became difficult for us to move, I had to ask the driver to clear by a filling station at Trans-Amadi and he cleared inside the petrol station, while we were there trying to figure out what happened and how to leave the area, behold the five Hilux vehicles drove passed us, heading the direction of Ada-Goerge.”
Sekibo, who called on the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba and President Muhammadu Buhari to call Wike to order, insisted that no amount of attack or intimidation will stop Atiku’s supporters in the state from ensuring the victory of the presidential candidate in Rivers.
He regretted that the police are now being used as a tool to attack innocent citizens of the state, adding that Wike is allegedly turning the state into a lawless place.
“This is what our state has been reduced to, this governor who said he was giving us the stadium to use, cannot stand the sight of another site being prepared for a campaign rally he does not want to hold?
“He sent policemen attached to him to go and destroy equipment clearing the place. As we speak now, he has barricaded the place with Government House Police, to ensure that media men did not get to the venue to video, record the burning equipments.
“He has used Government House Police, not the regular police but police attached to Rivers State governor, who are the ones that are barricading the place.
“Wike wants anarchy in Rivers State, he and his supporters have attacked members of Atiku Abubakar in the state over and over, we have been complaining to the law enforcement agencies, we have written to the police, we have done everything we can.
“This time around, it is no longer thugs that did this, it is policemen attached to the governor, going out at night to destroy equipments that are working at a site, to ensure that Atiku/Okowa presidential campaign rally never holds in this state.”
He further stated that Wike cannot intimidate Atiku’s supporters in the state, insisting their continuous commitments, supports and stands for Atiku, without fear of intimidation.
The DG boasted that people of the state will vote overwhelmingly for Atiku in the elections, no matter how much Wike tries.
The Rivers State Police Command confirmed the attack on Sekibo.
According to the State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, “There was a distress call to the control room at about 2a.m. on Friday, 10th February 2023, that Dr. Abiye Sekibo was attacked by suspected thugs along Intel in the Rainbow axis of Port-Harcourt.
“On the basis of the call, six patrol teams were immediately mobilised to the scene. By the time the teams arrived, the suspected thugs had fled. Nonetheless, the teams remained to forestall further destruction.”
The PPRO stated that normalcy has returned, and the state Commissioner of Police has ordered an investigation into the incident.
