INTERVIEW
Last Monday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State held a procession in Port Harcourt, the state capital, which ended with a memorial service at the Port Harcourt Polo Club for victims of violence and murders in the state before, during and after the last general elections. Called the Black Day, the procession was led by the APC governorship candidate in the state, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, who was accompanied by other APC leaders in the state including Sen. Magnus Abe; Chief Andrew Uchendu, the state party Chairman Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, and Asita H. Asita. Speaker after speaker at the occasion decried the violence which they claimed continues till today. As a matter of fact, they claimed that some APC members were violently attacked on their way to the procession. Peterside, who is contesting in court the result of the governorship election which produced PDP’s Nyesom Wike, spoke to journalists on the significance of the event and their quest for justice for victims of the violence. Excerpts:
How do you rate the turnout for the Black Day procession for persons killed during the last elections?
The turnout was excellent; you could see the number of people who came out on the streets and at the memorial service itself, and going by their turnout, I believe Rivers people have made a statement. They are saying ‘no’ to political violence, kidnapping and politically motivated assassinations. We thought that at the end of the election in April, we would have come to the end of this matter. But unfortunately, the violence has continued in different dimensions and has manifested itself in the form of kidnapping, armed robbery and more assassinations because those persons who were armed by the self-centred, evil politicians have not been disarmed and so we have continued with the same experience as the present Rivers government lacks the political will and the moral right to attack the issue.
What kind of responses or solidarity have you had from people outside the state on this issue?
The responses we have gotten across the country confirm that Nigerians are in solidarity and in sympathy with the people of Rivers on what we have gone through during the elections and what we are still going through. Nigerians are concerned that Rivers has remained a black spot in our democratic development and they have condemned in totality the level of violence visited on the people of the state who were only trying to cast their votes in exercise of their democratic rights. The prayer of every right thinking Nigerian is that this should never happen again in our political development.
There were reports that several persons, especially from your party, were attacked on their way to the procession and the memorial service. How true is this?
Yes, our people were attacked. People were attacked in Abonema and I was reliably informed that a top LGA official led the team that attacked several of our members there. We had the same experience in Omuma, Etche and Ikwerre Local Government Areas. It is unfortunate and I know that these attackers cannot escape the long arms of the law. They have refused to admit the fact that times have changed and the days of impunity and lawlessness are gone. We have drawn the attention of security agencies at the highest level to it and I am convinced they are doing something.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State has accused you and your party, APC, of playing politics with the lives of Rivers people who died during the elections. Also some PDP leaders and Rivers State government officials claim that the deaths were mostly cult-related and had nothing to do with the election?
It is most uncharitable for the PDP to say that those who lost their lives during the elections died in cult-related activities. What kind of cult related reason would lead to the killing of Chief Adube, a man who was above 65 years old? He was not only killed, but his three children, his driver, his friend and a relative who came visiting were also murdered in cold blood. What sort of cult-related reasons would have warranted that kind of killings? Now, the persons who were attacked on their way to President Buhari’s rally before the elections, were they also members of a cult? What cult were they members of? Many persons were killed. Claver was killed. Nwokochawas killed, Chris Obera was killed on the day of election and I ask, what cult did they belong to? What cult related offence would they have committed on the day of election? The man who was killed in Tai, what cult did he belong to? It is lack of respect for human life that would have led to the statement by any member of the PDP or official of the PDP government in Rivers State to say that they were killed for cult-related activities. It is clear that the PDP has no respect for human life and it manifests everyday in their activities and the way they conduct government business.
What hope is there for justice for the families of the victims of these politically motivated violence and murders?
The APC sympathises with all those who lost their loved ones during the carnage that took place during the elections and all those who are victims of political violence in Rivers State. We have said it over and over again that we would continue to pursue justice for all those who lost their loved ones and other victims. As a corollary, we are planning to set up a political violence victims support fund at the appropriate time. We are not going to rest on our oars until we see some form of justice meted out to all those who perpetrated the violence and we think that it would give some level of comfort to members of the victims’ families.
–Vanguard
