2019 polls: Wike accuses army of staging coup against Rivers people
By Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt
Although the 2019 general elections have come and gone, Rivers state Governor, Nyesom Wike, has accused the Nigerian Army of staging a coup against the state, describing their alleged actions as the worst in the nation’s democratic history.
Addressing the joint House of Representatives Committees on Army, Police, Human Rights, and Justice at the Government House Port Harcourt on Monday, Gov. Wike said that the Nigerian Army acted illegally because they were working to impose a pre-determined leadership on the state.
“It is really unfortunate. All of us know that there was a coup in this state, organized by the Nigerian Army. In the history of this country, it has never happened where during ordinary elections, the army will begin to kill people for no just cause.
“Because they believe a particular person or a particular party must win, it doesn’t matter how many people die. It was shown on national television. We watched how the army invaded the whole electoral commission,” he stated.
He alleged that the federal government has never worked to assist the state government fight insecurity, adding that “this is the only state the federal government has never assisted to fight insecurity. Instead of us to team up and fight insecurity, you politicize it.
“Even if you make recommendations, nothing will happen. I don’t know whether we are in a military regime or civil administration.”
Wike also alleged that aside the army, the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARs) has been a major anti-democratic force in the state since the 2016 re-run elections.
He pointed out that the F-SARs allegedly murdered a Ph. D holder and chartered accountant in cold blood, “simply because they wanted to subvert the will of the people.”
He wondered why the general officer commanding 6 Division of the Nigerian Army was still unpunished, despite “the negative roles he played during the elections.
“The GOC here is a politician. Nothing has happened to him because he was sent. If it was when the country was a country, you cannot be keeping that GOC. He is sabotaging the security network.”
He suggested that urgent measures be taken to rejig the security architecture of the country, in view of the nationwide security challenges, asserting that rather than address the security challenges facing the country “security agencies move against critics of security failures.”
Earlier, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Army, Rep. Rimande Shawulu Kwewum, said that they were in the state to investigate killings by the F-SARs on the basis of a motion by the member representing Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency, Rep. Kingsley Chinda on the killing of Dr. Ferry Gberegbe during the elections.
He said that the joint committees of the House of Representatives were in the state on a fact-finding mission, reiterating that the committees would sit down and allow all stakeholders to state their positions for the committee to arrive at the truth and make relevant recommendations.
According to him, there was a correlation between insecurity and under development, saying that countries that suffer insecurity hardly make progress.
