Assistant Editor (South South), JOE EZUMA, writes on incidences of violence and insecurity characterising Rivers State politics ahead of March/April elections.
Violence appears to be the defining factor in the on-going political campaigns in Rivers State. From Ogoniland in Rivers South East to Abua/Odual, Ahoada, Omoku in Rivers West to Okrika in Rivers East, the story seems the same. Consequently, residents of the state are gripped with fear that may see many voters remaining indoors and not participating in the polls.
Observers attribute the frightening change in the character and manner of politics in the state to many factors, particularly desperation on the part of the rival political parties and their supporters.
It is estimated, for instance, that the face-off between Governor Chibuike Amaechi and President Goodluck Jonathan on one hand as well as the impasse between Amaechi and the First Lady, Patience Jonathan, on the other hand, contributed extensively to the current regime of uncertainty in the state.
Perhaps, closely related to this is the defection of the governor from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC) which saw the hitherto majority PDP becoming the minority in the state’s politics. The existence of the two diametrically opposed tendencies, it has been argued, remains the issue of the day.
Historically, since its creation in May 27, 1967 and return of party politics after the civil war, Rivers has virtually remained a one-party state that always tilts to the ruling party at the centre. The party in government in the state, often, does not have strong challenger once the people have taken a stand.
The current arrangement in the state, therefore, is seen by many as a radical departure from the established political tradition, hence the desperation by chieftains of the two camps.
Also affecting the political temperature of the state is the struggle for equity at both the federal and state levels. While the agitations by parts of Rivers which have never tasted power since its creation, such as the Ogoni, as well as the riverine axis which had been left out of power for long, also contribute to the restiveness and opposition to President Jonathan’s second term bid by Amaechi and his acolytes, add to the heat on the state’s politics.
It is also argued that the insistence of the PDP governorship candidate, Nyesom Wike, on going for election against the upland-riverine power-sharing principle cannot be ruled out in the uncertainties in the state.
With the battleline drawn against the backdrop of these factors, it is little wonder that the state finds itself in its current unpredictable situation. Thus, ahead of the elections, the state has witnessed violent eruptions that recorded destruction of lives and property, kidnapping, bombing and molestation of political opponents.
The build-up to violence started late last year when political rallies of APC and PDP were being attacked by suspected supporters of each party against the other. The mayhem is not restricted to venues of political activities.
For example, barely 72 hours after the Rivers State branch of Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) called off its eight-month old industrial action, several explosions rocked the premises of three courts in the state on Monday, February 2. One of the explosions took place in a Port Harcourt court, while the other two incidents were recorded outside the state capital.
Before then, precisely on Thursday, January 15, Wike was attacked during a campaign tour of Abua/Odual Local Government Area of the state. The PDP candidate was caught in a cross-fire between unidentified gunmen and security operatives in the palace of the traditional ruler of Oda Abua, King Kalay Obugeh.
The PDP team had paid a courtesy visit to the traditional ruler as part of activities to flag off Wike’s governorship campaign in the local council when the hoodlums began shooting sporadically from a nearby bush. The candidate and his team were said to have been trapped in the palace of the traditional ruler for about 45 minutes, while the exchange lasted between the armed hoodlums and the security operatives attached to him.
On the other hand, following series of attack suffered by APC in the state, the party, on January 13, cried out to the police and the Department of State Security (DSS), appealing for urgent protection, accusing PDP supporters of being behind the mayhem.
APC chairman in the state, Davies Ikanya, made the call following attacks and bombing of the party’s office in Okrika.
The alarm prompted the Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) of Police in charge of Zone 6, Tunde Ogunsakin, to hold pre-election dialogue among political stakeholders and Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state. The forum was also attended by representatives of the parties, including governorship candidates and party chairmen at which peace accord was reached.
The accord, however, has been kept in breach on account of regular infractions, including the disruption of APC rally in Okrika on February 17, during which a police officer was killed. A journalist was also stabbed in the fracas, while some of his colleagues sustained varying degrees of injury, in addition to losing their gadgets.
APC, which recounted incidents, accused PDP and Mrs. Jonathan of being behind the attack. But the PDP, through the chairman of its Media Publicity Committee, Emma Okah, dissociated itself from the fracas.
APC disagreed. In fact, worried by the development in the state, the party had set up a committee to investigate increasing cases of electoral violence in the state. The committee, which finished its findings and report, on Monday February 23, indicted PDP.
Chairman of the committee, Peter Odika, while submitting its report to APC chairman, claimed that the committee was able to list 150 infractions on APC by PDP leadership and members in the course of the ongoing campaign for the 2015 elections.
“These sins revolve around attacks against APC faithful, billboards, and the local secretariat by the misguided PDP elements in Rivers State ahead of the March/April 2015 general elections,” Odika alleged, stressing that the report should be treated with the urgency it deserved.
Incidentally, Ogunsaki, last week, began investigations into the attack on the governorship campaign rally of the party at Okrika, headquarters of Okrika Local Government Area. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba, had earlier ordered Ogunsakin, whose command oversees Rivers to carry out a full-scale investigation into the February 17, 2015 attack on the APC campaign rally, which led to the death of a police corporal, Ifeanyi Okorie, with score of other police officers and civilians injured.
Ogunsakin, in commencing the investigations, said he would ensure that any person found to have committed any offence before or during the attack would face justice.
He said: “We have commenced investigation into what happened at Okrika and we are putting together bits and pieces of what happened before and during the fracas. You are going to hear from us; we have started making enquiries. We have started consulting and we are trying to find out what really happened before and during the crisis at Okrika.”
