Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has declared that the Rivers State government would pursue justice for all those murdered in cold blood by soldiers of the Nigerian Army, who he said were recruited by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to unleash mayhem on PDP members in Abonnema and other towns in the state during presidential and National Assembly elections.
Addressing journalists yesterday at Government House, Port Harcourt, Wike said that all those involved in the cold-blooded murder of innocent Rivers people to feather the presidential ambition of their benefactor would not go unpunished.
The governor Wike particularly berated the minister of transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, the General Officer Commandin, 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Jamil Sarham, and the Federal Special Anti-robbery Squad (FSARS), led by Akin Fakorede, for their roles in the murder of Rivers people during the elections.
He said: “Let it be known that those who masterminded the murderous assault on Abonnema and other communities in Rivers State last Saturday have bloodstains on their hands, for which they are all answerable before the Almighty God.
“I wish to assure all and sundry that we shall, as a government, pursue justice for the families of the victims against the perpetrators of the mayhem, killings and destruction in Abonnema, Buguma, Degema and other places, no matter how powerful they may seem and how long it may take.”
Wike called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately direct the army to pull out of Abonnema, so that the people could resume their normal lives.
“I call on Mr. President to, please, in the name of God, direct the army to withdraw the occupation and siege to Abonnema and Bonny communities, so that the people can go about their normal lives,” he said.
The governor wondered why the minister of transportation would connive with the Nigerian Army to spill the blood of Rivers people just for the purpose of political relevance.
“But, like all well-meaning Nigerians, I dare to ask: does the ambition of Mr. President to cling on to power warrant the gruesome and cold-blooded murder of innocent souls in Rivers State by the minister of transportation and his armed gangs?
“Must the minister of transportation shed innocent blood, desecrate the land of Abonnema and humiliate our people in pursuit of the re-election of our President?
“Are the people of Abonnema and, indeed, Kalabari happy with the occupation of their land and the way it was turned to a minefield of killings and destruction by the army on account of someone’s ambition to remain relevant in national politics and hopefully be re-appointed?” he queried.
Wike berated prominent Kalabari sons who he said collaborated with the minister to kill their own people because of electoral success: “Are the APC leaders of Kalabari, especially Mr. Tonye Cole, Prince Tonye Princewill and Professor Charles Dokubo pleased with the killings and destruction in Abonnema and other parts of Kalabari by the army?
“Can they, in all conscience, defend and or be happy to be among the principal actors with the transport minister to inflict such horrendous levels of killings and devastation to their own people and communities just to prove how connected they are to the Federal Government, and the nation’s military? What a shame.”
The governor outlined the atrocities allegedly committed by the minister of transportation, the GOC, 6 Division, Nigerian Army, and the FSARS during the presidential and National Assembly elections in Rivers State, saying: “The army are ravaging the entire Abonnema community and killing young men found in their homes. In Bonny, Rotimi Amaechi’s ally and former Commissioner of Transport, George Tolofari led a band of APC thugs to cordon off the RAC centre with the support of the army and prevented the elections from holding in that local government area.
“At Okrika, APC thugs snatched election materials from four riverine wards to an unknown destination, also with the support of the army.”