The All Progressives Congress has accused the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Joseph Mbu of acting with impunity in order to impress the First Lady, Patience Jonathan.
The APC made the statement yesterday after one of their officers shot a serving National Senator, Magnus Abe with a rubber bullet. Abe has since been flown out of the country for treatment.
In the statement issued by Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said, “the irresponsible act of brigandage by the police, which stopped a peaceful and lawful rally billed for the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state yesterday by the Save Rivers Movement (SRM), an organisation campaigning against the impunity of the PDP-controlled Federal Government against the government and people of Rivers State”.
‘’The police went to the venue of the rally, pulled down the erected canopies and fired tear gas at everyone around there and even into nearby homes, with the result that five children are now feared to have died from suffocation due to this shameful Gestapo-style action of the police, who are being funded by taxpayers to protect the lives and property of the same citizens they are now brutalising and killing.
‘’Not only that, they injured the Chief of Staff to Governor Chibuike Amaechi and fired a supposed rubber bullet, at point blank range, at Senator Magnus Abe, who is now gravely injured. The Senator is believed to have been deliberately targeted for attack by the police.
‘’We understand that the exceptional brutal clampdown on the planned rally by the police, who seem to have now surpassed even their own act of brutality against the people of the state, was aimed at impressing the First Lady, believed to be due in Port Harcourt on the same day (Sunday),’’ it said.
The Party accused Mbu of being empowered due to the support he receives from the Presidency.
“Everyone knows that the impenitent Rivers Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu believes he is now the de facto Governor of Rivers because he has the support of the Presidency to exhibit impudence”.
‘’Mbu, who is going down in Nigeria’s history as a classic example of an officer of the law turned the biggest violator of the law, has not only defied the resolutions of the National Assembly, he has also thumbed his nose at the ultimatum issued by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). He is the Alternate Inspector General of the Police who takes orders only from a conniving Presidency,’’ the party said.
‘’Since this reign of impunity started, the Rivers Governor has been barred from accessing his official residence by the police; members of the State House of Assembly have been tear-gassed and harassed endlessly; the plane owned by the state government has been grounded, using the institutions of state; and even a chartered plane bearing the Governor has been prevented from take-off, not minding that the member of the state House of Assembly which the plane was supposed to be carrying was not on board. No one has apologised for this chutzpah.
‘’This is all happening under the watch of a President who has been widely quoted as saying his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. The statement now rings hollow, considering what is happening in Rivers and elsewhere, which is widely regarded as a sign of things to come ahead of 2015.
‘’President Jonathan should act today to bring Rivers State and indeed Nigeria back from the brink of lawlessness. His body language must discourage the likes of Mbu from turning Nigerian into a lawless nation. He must differentiate his position as the leader of the PDP from his perch as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,’’ the APC said.