Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the immediate release of the State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Tamunosisi Gogo-Jaja, his family members and the State Coordinator of Arise Nigeria, Benjamin Diri, who were arrested by the Nigerian Army 6 Division, Port Harcourt.
State Chairman of PDP, Felix Obuah, in a statement by his media aide, Jerry Needam, said Gogo-Jaja and his family members, were whisked away by soldiers, who stormed his GRA Phase 3 residence on Wednesday.
Obuah regretted that the military in Rivers had not only usurped the responsibility of the police but also had been dragged into full-time politics by some anti-democratic elements and enemies of the state, describing the development as very unfortunate.
He wondered what could be the offence committed by the state’s Commissioner for Education, his wife, and children that the army would abandon their primary duty of protecting the Nigerian territory against external invasion, to carry out the function of the police.
The PDP said the action of the soldiers of the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army was politically motivated.
“The Army should realise that its integrity is at stake as elections will come and go, but the army remains as a national institution.”
Efforts to reach the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 6 Division, Colonel Aminu Iliyasu, for reaction, failed; he did not reply to the text message sent to him.