The Rivers State Police Command has issued a stern warning to the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) to suspend its planned protest over the closure of 23 local government council secretariats, citing credible intelligence reports of potential hijacking by hoodlums.
In a statement issued on Sunday night in Port Harcourt by its spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, the Command warned that the protest could lead to a breakdown of law and order, and vowed to arrest and prosecute anyone attempting to cause a breach of the peace.
“While the Command recognizes and respects the right to lawful assembly, it has credible intelligence that this protest will be infiltrated and hijacked by hoodlums seeking to cause disruption and mayhem within the state. Consequently, the command strongly advises the organisers to suspend the planned protest to prevent a possible breakdown of law and order” Iringe-Koko said in the statement.
She also disclosed that the police have deployed officers to the secretariats of all 23 local government areas to ensure the safety and security of the public.
“The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu has deployed Police Officers to the Secretariates of all 23 Local Government Areas in the State. These officers will remain in their respective locations until the threat of disruption of peace is deemed to have ceased,” the statement added.
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Meanwhile, the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) Rivers chapter has alerted security agencies and the public to a sinister plot by former local government chairmen and former members of the state House of Assembly and National Assembly to cause anarchy and chaos, with the ultimate goal of declaring a state of emergency in the state.
ALGON Chairman Ichemati Ezebunwo warned that the protest was not in the interest of the local governments or the state, but rather a calculated attempt to paint the state in a bad light and unleash mayhem.
“We are drawing the attention of the general public to the planned protest by the immediate past local government chairmen, former House of Assembly members, and National Assembly members loyal to the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, against the Nigeria Police Force manning the 23 local government councils across the state,” Ezebunwo said.
“The planned protest is not in the interest of the local governments and the state in its entirety. Rather, it is a calculated attempt by enemies of our dear state to paint the people of the state in a bad light, unleash mayhem while at it, and use it to further buttress their inordinate call for the declaration of a state of emergency in our dear state.”
Ezebunwo emphasized that ALGON and the people of Rivers State support the police decision to take control and protect all local government council secretariats until further directive on the matter.
“We emphatically state that we, members of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Rivers State Chapter, and our people are in support of the police decision to take control and protect all local government council secretariats until further directive on the matter”, Ezebunwo said.
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