.
…Thugs machetes three victims, destroy chairs, canopies
…APC accuses Rivers CP of undue silence, calls IGP to deploy a special team
By Davies Iheamnachor, PORT HARCOURT
There is palpable tension among some political parties in Rivers following repeated attacks on their campaign ahead of the 2023 general elections in Rivers State.
It would be recalled that on the penultimate Friday thugs attacked the campaign of the All Progressives Congress, APC, at Port Harcourt City Local Government Area with explosives.
Monday, Senator Magnus Abe, the Governor Candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, was attacked at Ahoada West LGA, while yesterday, APC’s Governorship Candidate, Tonye Cole, was attacked at Opobo Town, Opobo/Nkoro LGA.
These were happening as last week, three members of APC on a door-to-door campaign in Omuma LGA were inflicted with machete cuts amidst alleged threats that the party would not be allowed to carry out any campaign activities in the area.
Speaking yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Leader of APC in Omuma LGA, Onyekachi Ojiegbe, stated that the LGA was not safe for them following the activities of armed thugs in the area.
Ojiegbe said the party has written over 17 different petitions to the Commissioner of Police in the state and the Director of Operations State Criminals Investment Department and that all have been swept under the carpet.
He urged the Inspector General of Police, to set up a Special Crack Team and deploy them to the LGA and the state ahead of the elections, warning that if such was not done that there might be a total breakdown of law and order in the area.
Ojiegbe said: “Omuma is unsafe. For two years now we have been living in fear. We have written to the Commissioner of Police and DC, State CID. We have written over 17 petitions and they have been unattended to.
“Recently, our Governorship Candidate was ambushed and attacked in this LGA. The matter was reported to the police and arrests were made and we went to court. As we speak, the matter has died naturally.
“Last week Saturday, our members went for the door-to-door campaign, and they were attacked with a machete. Three of them are hospitalised because they were seriously injured.
“We are afraid. We don’t know what will happen next. We are having a mega campaign on the 6 of this month. I have received several calls that that campaign will not hold. I am calling on the IG of the police, Director of DSS to come to our aide.
“We are appealing to the general public to urge the IGP to set up an independent crack team, to be in Omuma, if this is done, these people causing insecurity will be arrested. It looks as if the CP in Rivers State is not hearing what is happening in the state.”
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Police Command has confirmed the attack on the Governorship Candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Sen Magnus Abe, describing it as a pre-rally attack.
The spokesperson of the command, Grace Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, said police were alerted of the development and that tactical teams that were immediately deployed restored normalcy in the area.
The post Worries as thugs attack political campaigns in Rivers appeared first on Vanguard News.
