Rivers PDP accuses IGP’s investigative panel of witch-hunting
*Says police have arrested 21 INEC Ad-hoc staff, transferred them to Abuja
*APC says PDP can’t drag it into its war with security agents
The Rivers State Peoples Democratic, PDP, has alleged that 24 hours after the 15-man panel set up by the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, to investigate the during the December 10, 2016, re-run election in Rivers State visited the State Governor, Chief Barr. Nyesom Wike, in Government House, Port Harcourt, 21 ad-hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, who took part in the legislative re-run election in the State and served in areas where candidates of the PDP won, were on Wednesday night arrested and detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department, in Port Harcourt.
The party said on Thursday that the latest events proved that the Nigerian police have become the security arm of the All Progressives Congress, APC, witch-hunting the PDP and Governor Nyesom Wike.
In a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday from the office of the state PDP Chairman, Chief Felix Obuah, stated that information reaching the party disclosed that those arrested were transferred to Abuja on Thursday afternoon and were allegedly being forced to confess receiving money from the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidates which the Police and the All Progressives Congress, APC, alleged was responsible for the victory of the PDP in the re-run election in the State.
“According to the source at the State CID, more arrests would be made and those arrested will be transferred to Abuja and paraded during a press conference that would be organized by the Police High Command, in conjunction with the top leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
“This latest development, undoubtedly, is a confirmation of the fact that the Police committee led by its chairman, Mr. Damain Okoro, that arrived the State yesterday, Wednesday, January 11, 2017, is on a mission of witch-hunt against the State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, the PDP leadership, and candidates of the party, who emerged victorious in the December 10, re-run election in Rivers State.
“Although the police authorities have actually made no pretense about their biased role in issues surrounding the exercise in the State, with the premature sack of six of their men attached to the Governor, and their refusal to question the conduct of Mr. Akin Fakorede during the election, but of much concern is what these activities portend for our democracy and the image of the Police and other security forces who swore oath of allegiance of neutrality and to defend, protect and respect the provisions of the constitution of Nigeria, and rights of all citizens, and who are maintained by tax payers’ money, not only those of the APC, but all Nigerians,” the statement partly read.
Chief Obuah said that it was unfortunate that the Police under the current Inspector-General of Police, IGP, have allegedly abused their constitutional responsibilities severally and turned into a security arm of the APC.
The PDP Chairman in the statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Jerry Needam, said that it was expected that the police would have been professional, objective, apolitical in its operations and upheld the tenets of the constitution and regulations as contained in the Electoral Act, relating to the role of security agencies in an election.
He continued: “Regrettably, the Police in the case of Rivers State have become a tool of witch-hunt by the federal government and certain Rivers politicians of the APC.”
The party called on well meaning Nigerians to rise against what it described as an ugly trend and alleged abuse of responsibility by the Police High Command and the APC leadership in trying to “silence the opposition by wrongly indicting innocent citizens, the Rivers State government, and leaders of the PDP in the State.”
The Rivers State Police Command is yet to confirm the arrest to Daily Times as at press time.
However reacting to the accusations, the APC, in a statement by its Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, said that it would not allow the PDP drag it into its “war with the security agents”.
The APC said it noted with shock that Rivers PDP was accusing the Nigeria Police of becoming the security arm of APC. “This is a joke taken too far by every decent standard in politics,” it said
“We recall that in the same press statement PDP accused the Nigeria Police of arresting 21 ad-hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, who took part in the legislative re-run election in the State.While the APC will not attempt to speak for the Nigeria Police, we wish to state that the PDP is simply crying wolf and this is typical of them and therefore not surprising to many.
“We do not see why the PDP should be too worried that ad-hoc staff of INEC or indeed anybody is invited by the Nigeria Police to assist it on any issue. How that becomes a source of worry for the PDP is baffling to us. Could it be a confirmation of our long-held suspicion that PDP smuggled their members into the INEC ad-hoc staff list in order to do their bidding? Or could the investigation of the ad-hoc staff possibly led to the unravelling of possible extent and dimensions of compromise of INEC officials by Gov. Nyesom Wike and the PDP hence the apprehension and false alarm?
“The APC is convinced that the camp of the PDP is presently thrown into confusion because the invited ad-hoc INEC staff are likely to confess and name those who compromised them over the December 10 rerun election and that is the reason behind the panic mode Rivers PDP and Gov. Wike have suddenly found themselves in,” the party stated.
The Rivers APC then reminded the Governor Wike and the PDP that “clear conscience fears no accusation because the truth will ultimately prevail. The purported arrest and transfer of 21 ad-hoc INEC staff to Abuja by the Police, even if true, should not elicit the sort of animated frenzy that has become evident of the governor and PDP in Rivers State. Or could it be that that INEC and their staff in Rivers State have become the election administrative arm of Rivers PDP? We ask that we may know,” the statement said.
The party, therefore, called on the Nigeria Police and other security agencies not to be fazed by Governor Wike’s “antics and empty threats for those are his stock-in-trade without which he may never function true to type.”
