THE politics of Rivers State will not cease to confound us. It never resile from its ugly nature. It’s often characterised by violence, killings and irregularities. Indeed, it would have been a pleasant surprise if the rerun elections of December 10 had ended without these incidents. That would have  defied all expectations. But it didn’t.
It would have been cheering had the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) conducted the elections without allegations of compromising itself or favouring one of the political parties . Many people argue that INEC  is looking for alibi to justify its below average performance.
It’s,therefore , not surprising that ten days after the rerun elections in Rivers State, the hate rhetoric continues. The Police high command and the electoral umpire are frantically searching for a smoking gun to hold Governor Nyesom Wike responsible for the various ugly incidents that marred the elections. Again, this is not surprising. The probe may  be  what the  All Progressives Congress(APC) in Rivers State wanted .
The party, despite the Federal might at its disposal, got its nose bloodied by the courage exhibited by the Rivers PDP, under the leadership of Wike. Sometimes, the manner of winning and losing and the scope of victory and defeat do have consequences. So, rather than allow time to bind the wounds of division that the elections  engendered among the people of the State, the Police  have  set in motion a firestorm that could ignite fresh crisis in Rivers. The final script may be a state of emergency , a plot that has been on the cards for almost a year now.
Last week, the Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris said he has set up a team of detectives and experts to carry out a thorough investigation of the incidents that marred peaceful conduct of the rerun elections. The police boss said the panel became necessary following statement by the Chairman of INEC Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, that there were about 70 incidents that marred the elections in many parts of the state.
The panel which will be headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police(DCP), according to spokesman of the Force , Don Awunah, has one month to complete its assignment. The main job of the panel  is to unravel those who, directly or indirectly responsible for the incidents and bring them to justice. The police authorities have called on the Rivers State government, Human Rights and Civil society groups and INEC to assist with facts on the incidents.
Hold on folks : This is the smoking gun : the panel has been asked to investigate and  conduct a forensic analysis of the audio comments purported to be the voice of governor Wike as claimed by an online medium, Sahara Reporters. The allegation relates to bribery offers and death threat the online publication claimed was made against an INEC official  by the governor  . The ruling PDP in the state has since  debunked the audio report  as extremely ridiculous and  tissues of lies. The party in a statement said it had unmasked the characters behind the purported audio, accusing an APC Senator from the state as the mastermind.
Without prejudice to the investigation and the likely outcome, the probe into Wike’s alleged audio comments is a political football with one grand plan in mind : indict him at all costs. Anyone who is familiar with Sahara Reporters, this is Breihart  News equivalent founded by Steve Bannon, President-elect Donald Trump White House Chief Strategist. Sahara Reporters  founded by Omoyele Soworo, engages in pernicious news and conspiracy theories. It has no respect for truth and objectivity.
In the last couple of years, the medium has repeatedly harmed the integrity of high-profile politicians. It’s sad that Sahara Reporters are misusing the $175,000 donation by the Ford Foundation to blackmail people. Wike and top officials of the state PDP may be its next targeted victim.  I agree with completely with Gov. Wike that the police inquiry is phoney. It has a predetermined goal. The aim is not in doubt, to used Wike’s own words,  “to indict the PDP and commence their politically motivated prosecution”. The governor made his position known on Sunday, December 19, during a victory Thanksgiving mass at the Catholic Institute of West Africa  in Port Harcourt, the state capital. “We are not a party to their so-called panel. We have passed that stage and we cannot fall into the trap of a panel of inquiry”, Wike reportedly said . He is right.  The probe is a facade.
There are issues that supersede this deceptive police probe which observers of the rerun elections are worried about. The questions are: Did the Nigeria Police participate in rigging the elections? Was the Army involved in what went wrong with the polls? Did INEC compromise itself in any way before and during the elections? Answering these questions dispassionately and honestly is an assignment  the Police and other election experts, should not  permit any margin for errors.  It must not be a wild goose chase or a witch hunt as the Police  probe looks most likely to be.
A post-election analyses by Human Rights and Civil Society groups said there was a disturbing partisanship by the Nigerian military during the rerun in favour one political party .This runs against the intention of Buhari administration.    It is worthy to recall that President Buhari had last year directed the Chief of Army Staff LT.Gen. Tukur Buratai to probe allegations of military partisanship in our elections. Nigerians are not yet aware of the outcome of that inquiry. What happened in Rivers rerun was described as national shame .It needs a thorough inquest, not a selective phoney probe that the police is about to start which outcome some say is predictable.
This is necessary for future elections, not just in Rivers State but throughout the country. 2019 is not far away. Months prior to the rerun elections in Rivers State, the impartiality of INEC came under a blanket of suspicion. Wike and other stakeholders in the state complained that INEC had compromised itself by the meeting  the chairman of the commission has with some leaders of the APC in Rivers State. After initial denial, the commission owned up that indeed the Prof. Yakubu met with some APC officials.However, it claimed that the meeting was part of efforts to ensure peaceful elections.  Also, two weeks before the elections, Wike went public with a stunning discovery of electoral materials and result sheets at a printing press believed to belong to a top official of the APC. Police instead of probing the allegation said Wike was crying wolf. The outcome of the election,the ugly incidents that marred some of the elections may have proved Wike right.
For instance, the Coalition of Non-Governmental group commonly known as Situation Room after the rerun elections authored a damning report on what it called the “ugly undemocratic” roles played by the military and police.   The organization which is an umbrella of over 70 registered NGOs, also came hard on the INEC for what it called its lack of neutrality in the elections. All in all, the police and INEC should focus on issues in line with their statutory duties and stop chasing shadows. It’s time to heal in Rivers State.

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