ABUJA – The Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) of Nigeria has commended the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, in his efforts to prevent an uproar at the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
HURIWA revealed on Friday that the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), had attempted to take over the RSIEC office in the early hours of Friday.
HURIWA has also criticized the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, for alleged bias in the political situation in the state.
A statement by Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA National Coordinator, stated, “We urge the IGP of Police Kayode Egbetokun to decide if he wants to remove his uniform and then join the All Progressives Congress as a registered card carrying member rather than wear the uniform paid for by taxpayers most of whom don’t belong to any political persuasions, and then only for the IGP to dabble into the political fisticuffs in Rivers State…
The police in Rivers state controlled from the office of IGP in Abuja, must behave like professionals rather than always acting as the armed thugs of All Progressives Congress,” HURIWA noted.
The non-governmental body also cited media reports which alleged that “policemen attempted to scale through the gates and strong room of the Commission to cart away sensitive Electoral materials meant for the conduct of Saturday’s local government election in the State.
“However, the plot was botched when vigilant security officials alerted principal officers of the Commission and relevant government authorities, who immediately informed the Governor of the development.
The Governor therefore led a team of officials, lawmakers from the National Assembly and State House of Assembly, top political stakeholders, and other leaders to storm the facility.”
Reacting to the incident, the civil society organisation condemned the incident which it said occurred at night, likened it to an illegal operation.
Continuing, it demanded the immediate arrest of the Deputy Commissioner Operations of the Nigeria Police who it alleged coordinated the “attempted takeover of a democratic institution of Rivers State.”
“We view this brazen attack on the soul of democracy in Rivers State by the partisan Nigeria Police as an attempted coup which must not be swept under the carpets of impunity. We will continue to warn the Nigeria Police to steer off politics and operate in compliance to the constitutional provisions which created the Policing institution to enforce law and order and not to be deployed for political parties’ supremacy battles to advance the ambitions of certain individuals only because they are affiliated to the All Progressives Congress which is the party in power at the centre.
“The Nigeria Police Force has continued to give Nigerians reasons to doubt that the country even have anything like a credible or professional policing institution because if the police of Nigeria now behaves like the armed wing of All Progressives Congress and then dabble into controversies around the Rivers Local Government elections, we the people of Nigeria will automatically assume that we don’t have a complete professional police in existence.
These vexatious, toxic, unconstitutional harassment of the Rivers state governor and the brazen, lawless, reckless efforts to take over democratic institutions by the police in Rivers state are only drawing us back to the days of the military dictatorship and these illegal acts of treachery by the police are attracting global opprobrium and bad image in the comity of nations for Nigeria.”
