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The Rivers state government has voiced its dissatisfaction with what it calls the biased actions of the Nigerian police in fulfilling their constitutional duties of protecting lives and property. This follows a clash on Wednesday between supporters of Martins Amaewhule, factional speaker of the state House of Assembly, and those of Governor Siminalayi Fubara at a health center.
In a telephone interview, State Commissioner for Information, Hon. Joseph Johnson, criticized the police for their conduct during the incident. Johnson alleged that the police exacerbated the situation by firing teargas canisters at a health facility in Eliozu, Obio/Akpor local government area, causing panic among patients and staff.
“The only action I condemn in all that happened on Wednesday is that the Nigerian police who went to one of the medical centers and detonated canisters of teargas,” Johnson stated. He added, “The Nigerian police is still locking down the 23 local government councils. The Amaewhule people detonated dynamite last time close to the Presidential Hotel, police said they were investigating and nothing has come out of it till today.”
Johnson also recalled an incident in October last year when Governor Fubara’s life was threatened while assessing fire damage at the Assembly complex, noting that no arrests have been made to date. “Police is against the Rivers state government. Amaewhule and co had boasted that the police was on their side. I can begin to see that the boast is now beginning to show. For somebody to throw teargas into a health center where you have people with different health conditions, pregnant women and babies and police has not arrested anybody, tells a lot,” he said.
According to reports, youths allegedly loyal to Amaewhule attacked a medical outreach event organized by the state for women and children. The outreach, conducted by the State Ministry of Health, was disrupted by the youths, leading to intervention by the Anti-Riot Squad from the State Command, which used gunfire and teargas to disperse the attackers. The police were accused of blocking elderly people from accessing the health facility during the chaos.
In response, the Public Relations Officer of the state police, Superintendent of Police Grace Iringe-Koko, described the situation as a clash between two political factions. “A distress call was received from the health centre in the Eliozu community today, 24th July 2024, where supporters of two separate political factions were engaged in a fight. The police responded by sending operatives to the scene to restore law and order. The police deployed anti-riot tactics, including the use of canisters, to disperse the crowds. An investigation into the matter has been initiated,” she said.
