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Security appears to have been tightened up around
Wike has repeatedly raised alarm over the security situation in the state that he was forced to speak that that people should not trust Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, the acting Inspector General of police. IGP over the forthcoming elections. He fears that the security agencies will work with ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, to intimidate the opposition parties. Rotimi Amaechi , a former governor of Rivers state and minister of Transportation , may not have helped matters when he threatened fire and brimestone during President Muhammadu Buhari, electioneering Campaign in the state, if the APC, governorship Candidate, Tonye Cole, and Candidates of the party , were included on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, list to contest the election.
The Rivers state governor may have turned it into laughing matter as he repeatedly mocked Amaechi and the APC leadership in the state to put their house in order insisting that the party would never have Candidates to contest this Saturday, February 23, 2019 , National Assembly election or the governorship and State Assembly elections on May 9, 2019.
Adamu, the acting IGP, may have perceived danger ahead of the election in the state that he quickly deployed Austin Braimoh, a Commissioner of police, CP, to oversee the security situation in the south-south geo-polical region which includes Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross river, Delta, Edo and Rivers. Braimoh was said to have held a closed door meeting with Wike, at the Brick House, popular, government House, where he was said to have assured him that he has no cause to worry about the safety of lives and property in the state during this election period as the police were in full control.
Given the assurance, Wike may have relaxed. Unknown to him, he was still a target of hired assassins because of his political standing in the state. Given an insider information about the recent attempt on his life, the governor had said that he problem started after a meeting with officials of the British High Commission in the government House . According to him, he had taken time out at the end of the closed door meeting to see some PDP leaders in the state for discussion over the forthcoming election but was trailed by soldiers from the 6 Division of the Nigeria Army.
He disclosed that he would have been killed if he had continued his movement along the Abacha road, one of the most popular roads in Port Harcourt , named after late General Sani Abacha, a former Head of State, he may have been killed but was forced to divert his movement to Louis Street to forestal any possible attack. An aggrieved Wike, said , he knew that his life was in danger when his security details raised alarm: What is going on, what is going on, soldiers are behind us?
He noted that the soldiers have no reason to follow him because he had never gone out with any soldier ”since he because the governor of the state on May29, 2015. ”I have never gone out with any soldier but the soldiers were following me”, he said. He queried the rationale for the soldiers trailing him if not for sinister motive. Many believe that if they had succeeded in killing him, it would have provided an opportunity for those championing the cause that APC Candidates including Cole, the APC governorship to have their way .
Appealing to the Army to” refrain from being overzealous and not being partisan”’ , Wike warned that such an ”action is capable of jeopardising foreign the nation’s quest for foreign investment”, insisting that Rivers state is so important as the revenue base of the nation to be thrown into confusion during this election period.
Not many people were surprised at the planned attack on the south-south notable governor by the unknown soldiers . Perhaps, the people may have been worried over the closed door meeting between him and the British government Election Observers in the state. This may have been done to create fear in the mind of the foreign Observers not to t o do their as it ought to be done for fear of their safety. The British government had deployed 60 Observers in 15 states across the country to monitor the elections including Rivers an Delta states.
In a related development, the Delta state police Command said on Thursday confirmed the interception of an unregistered white Toyota Hilux van bearing items suspected to be explosives. Chuks Oritsewezie, an Assistant Superintendent and the police Command Spokes person,, said the suspected vehicle was intercepted by the Command team while on a routine stop and search operation along the Ughelli – Patani road.
He disclosed that the driver of the vehicle had refused to stop when he was flagged down, forcing the police team to give it a hot chase and caught up with it. The two occupants of the vehicles may have known that the game was up as they abruptly stopped and escaped to a nearby bush. that much was said by Oritsewezie. Items that were said to have been recovered from the vehicle include 128 pieces of 60mm.156 Kg emulsion chemical substances and five pieces of electric detonators. The explosives were said to have been concealed in several bagco bags.
Adeynka Adeleke, the Delta state , CP, who could not hide his feelings over the interception of the vehicle because of the damage could have caused during the election , was said to have handed it over to the Force Bomb Disposal Unit , which had confirmed the items as such. The CP said there is no need for Deltans or foreign Observers to worry as the situation is under control.