Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has backed the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, for foiling an attempt by the Nigerian Police, led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), to take over the State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC.
The Police was said to have attempted to take over the electoral commission at 1:00 am on Friday, 4th October, 2024.
The rights group also carpeted the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, saying the Police boss has become a party in the ongoing battle for political relevance and supremacy between the Rivers State governor and his erstwhile benefactor, Nyesom Wike.
“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 on behalf of the self acclaimed political godfather of Rivers State Barrister Nyesom Wike,” HURIWA said in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko.
“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. ”
It was reported that policemen were said to have 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 immediately led a team of government officials, lawmakers from the National Assembly and State House of Assembly, top political stakeholders and other leaders to storm the facility.
Reacting to the development, HURIWA condemned the night time invasion of the Rivers state Electoral Commission in Port Harcourt, describing it as an illegal operation.
The rights group demanded “the immediate arrest of the Deputy Commissioner Operations of the Nigeria Police who coordinated the attempted take over 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 commity of nations for Nigeria,” HURIWA added.
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