Police,APC Supporters Clash Averted In Rivers

 

AN attempt by the police to stop a rally organised by the All Progressives Congress in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State on Monday was resisted by supporters of the party.

The APC supporters had cautioned security operatives who had earlier made an effort to stop party faithful from entering the Rumokoro Civic Centre venue of the rally.

The crowd at the rally became angry and uncontrollable when the Divisional Police Officer, Special Duties in Rumuokoro, Mr. Allwell Okwuonu, made his way to where some of the APC leaders in Obio/Akpor were seated.

Okwuonu came when the leader of the party in Obio/Akpor and Chief of Staff, Government Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, was making his remarks.

Angered by Okwuonu’s action, the crowd surged towards and shoved him aside, even as some youths pelted him with stones, sand and plastic chairs.

The DPO was immediately moved out of the venue in order to prevent him (Okwuonu) from being lynched by the angry supporters, who shouted, “Shame to the police”.

The APC supporters were, however, repelled by the sporadic gunshots into the air by policemen who came to the venue in about four patrol vans.

Many of the APC supporters, who were scared by the deafening sound of the gunshots, scampered to safety in order not to be hit by stray bullets.

It could not be ascertained if any casualty was recorded as at the time of filing this report.

One of the supporters, Mr. Jude Udensi, who spoke with The PUNCH, said that APC supporters in Obio/Akpor and Rivers State would continue to resist the police if they (police) continued to disrupt their rally.

Udensi explained that the action of the police at the APC rally in Obio/Akpor would not deter the party from achieving its aim of winning the 2015 election in the state.

“Nigerians should observe what is going on in Rivers State. Why would Wike (Supervising Minister of Education) hold GDI meetings and the police would not disrupt it? Why would the police then disrupt APC meeting?

“The police should know that we are ready to resist them if they continue to disrupt APC rallies. We will tell the police that the power of the people is recognised in democracy,” Udensi stressed.

Okocha told the APC supporters that Governor Rotimi Amaechi, had left the PDP and would not go back to the ruling party, even as he expressed dissatisfaction over the attempt by the police to disrupt the APC rally in Obio/Akpor.

A similar scenario took place in the Etche Local Government Area of the state when a group of youths suspected to be members of the Grassroots Development Initiative clashed with the APC supporters.

An eyewitness account indicated that it took the intervention of the police to prevent bloodshed during the rally in the council area.

The Secretary-General of GDI, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, dismissed the claim that GDI members were involved in the political crisis in Etche on Monday.

Nwanosike added that the people of Etche were only expressing their anger that they were not consulted by the council chairman, Mr. Reginald Okwuoma, before organising the APC rally.

However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, said he could not react immedately because he had yet to receive any brief on the incident in Etche and Obio/Akpor.