Details Of How The Six Poitical Thugs Were Arrested With Sophiscated Weapons In Ph

Rivers State Commissioner of Police Mbu Joseph Mbu has got an order to immediately release the six aides to two politicians who were arrested on Friday by Joint Task Force (JTF) operatives and handed over to the police.

It was also gathered yesterday in Port Harcourt that the JTF and the police clashed over how information on the arrest of the suspects leaked to the media.

The suspects are said to be aides of Senator George Sekibo, who represents Rivers East Senatorial District and the self-acclaimed Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly, Evans Bipi. Both politicians have denied knowing them.

Also yesterday, a witness, who pleaded not want to be named, spoke of how the suspects were arrested. He said Sunday Elisha, Uche Jenikachi, Ibinabo Lawson, Okechukwu Okoro, Jerry Tonye and Daniel Ibito-Anga were allies of Sekibo and Bipi, who represents Ogu/Bolo Constituency.

The six persons, according to JTF spokesman Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, were arrested during a routine patrol at Ogu, headquarters of Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area, with seven AK-47 rifles, 164 rounds of ammunition and six locally made canon launchers.

Col. Nwachukwu said the six suspects were on Friday handed over to the police, for alleged illegal possession of firearms and not for any reason of political or social affiliation.

Police spokesman Ahmad Muhammad, on Saturday night, said he had not been briefed about the suspects’ handover to the police.

When Muhammad was again contacted at 5:54 pm yesterday, on the directive to release the suspects, he said: “As said earlier, I have not been briefed of the handover, if any, let alone talking about their (suspects’) release.”

Muhammad’s claim was, however, faulted by a source who insisted that Mbu got the order.

The source also commented on the crisis of confidence between the soldiers and the police on how the arrest of the thugs leaked to the media.

Said the source: “Mbu complained that the story must have been leaked to the media by the Army/JTF. Mbu also lamented that the other security agencies (Army, Navy, Air Force, State Security Service) in Rivers State are not helping him and the police at all, in the fight against Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

“He (Mbu) cited the arrest and the subsequent leakage of it to the media, as an example and that if it was the Rivers State Police Command that made the arrest, the media would not have heard about it.”

According to the source, a JTF/Army officer dismissed Mbu’s claims and described them as “ridiculous and preposterous”, maintaining that the Army does not get involved in politics and certainly does not take sides in political fights.

The source also admonished Mbu to look inside the police on how the story got to the media, reiterating that it was after the army handed over the suspects to the police for prosecution, that the story went public.

The witness, at the scene of the arrest of the six suspects, said: “At 8:30 am on January 3, 2014 (Friday), I was leaving Eteo to meet with my cousins in Ogu when a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) sped past me. I had to slow down momentarily; because the speed with which it passed me was too much.

“Not long, some JTF patrol vans that were coming from Ogu flashed their headlights to stop the jeep. It stopped. On noticing the JTF men, one of the occupants of the Sport-Utility Vehicle (SUV) quickly rushed into the nearby bush, with a bag containing arms.

“He wanted to hide it from the JTF operatives, but they noticed him and cordoned off the area, searched and found the bag containing arms and rifles. As soon as the soldiers saw the arms, they pulled them from the car and started asking them questions.

“The JTF men were led by Capt. Yusuf. The boys (arrested suspects) even wanted to take on the soldiers, but when they saw that they were more in number, they obeyed their instruction.

“As the soldiers were asking them questions, they were answering. They were telling the JTF men their names. Then, the fat one among them started begging. He said he was SA (Special Assistant) to Senator George Sekibo. He said he was a humble person. Then, one soldier asked him if humble people carry weapons. He said he was only obeying his master.

“He begged the soldiers to conceal the news from the public and especially the Rivers State Government and promised to give them any amount of money, if they can stop the news from spreading.

“At that point, the JTF men asked them to stand up. They marched them into one of their vehicles. Some of them were taken to Bori Camp in Port Harcourt, but one was taken to Ogu. I do not know what they went there to do. It was at this point that I left. I do not know what happened after.”