’30 APC members killed in political violence in Rivers’

premiumtimesng.com

The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has said 30 of its members have so far been killed during various political crises that rocked the state in the past few months.

The chairman of the party in the state, Davis Ikanya, who stated this in a statement Thursday, however, lamented that the police had not made any arrest in connection with the killings.

He accused the members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party of being behind the killings.

“Our investigations showed that we have lost no fewer than 30 of our members and supporters in political attacks instigated in parts of the State by agents of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party,” he said.

“As painful as this is, we are miffed that no single arrest has been made by the police in connection with these politically-motivated killings calculated to intimidate and annihilate us as a political party.”

Mr. Ikanya said those behind the killings were increasingly becoming emboldened by the day as demonstrated by their brazen attack on APC gubernatorial train in Okrika, the home town of the wife of the president, Patience Jonathan, on February 18.

According to him, the shooting, bombing and successful disruption of Okrika rally was aimed principally at eliminating the APC governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside and the successful kidnapping of Fred Ndigbara, a civil servant working in the media unit of Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

‘We indeed need no soothsayer to tell us that we are no longer protected but now endangered species,” he said. “When a political party is denied the right to canvas for votes in an assumed democratic system, as has been done to us in Okrika, we can only conclude that Nigeria is slowly but steadily slipping into a state of anarchy.

“With the lives of our people threatened on daily basis, with the security agencies looking the other way, we have every reason to wonder if the PDP-controlled Federal Government is truly serious that elections will hold in Rivers State during the general elections scheduled for March and April.”

The APC chairman commended the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, “for ordering full investigation into the madness that happened at Okrika, where one of the policemen providing security at our rally was brutally killed”.

He also commended Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 6, Tunde Ogunsakin, for ordering Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Dan Bature, to rescue Mr. Ndigbara from the hands of those that kidnapped him while on a democratic duty during the rally of APC at Khana recently.

“We however wish to emphasise that something serious must be done soon to avoid us losing hope on the ability of the police to secure our lives,” Mr. Ikanya said.

“PDP and its promoters can’t be allowed to continue to act with impunity as if the police are an extension of the party as being boasted by some of its chieftains.

“It is very unfortunate and sad that a Police Force that is being sustained and maintained by our taxes should allow its reputation to be ruined by a group of people who do not mean well for our State.”

The APC chairman demanded “the immediate rescue of Fred Ndigbara, a harmless fellow whose only crime is belonging to APC, and that adequate protection be accorded to our gubernatorial candidate and the entire APC leadership in Rivers State.”

“We also demand a stop to the further harassment of our members. We are full citizens of this country and we can no longer tolerate being treated like second class citizens,” he said.

He said the party commiserated with the family of the slain policeman, police corporal, Ifeanyi Okorie, and assured that it would do everything humanly possible to ensure that his children are given the best education that they need to succeed in life.