Ogonis Protest Shooting Of Kinsman ,Sen Abe In Port Harcourt

The Eleme axis of the East-West Road was shut down Monday by youths of Ogoni origin who were protesting against the shooting of Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe, by the police last Sunday.

This came as the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) warned that it would not accept the spilling of the blood of any Ogoni son or daughter in the festering political crisis in Rivers State and called for a thorough investigation of the incident by the federal government.

Abe, who represents Rivers South-east Senatorial District in the National Assembly, was allegedly shot twice with rubber bullets by the police before the commencement of a rally organised by the Save Rivers Movement (SRM), a pro-Governor Chibuike Amaechi and All Progressives Congress (APC) political pressure group, at the Rivers State College of Arts and Science, Rumuola, Port Harcourt.

Abe, who hails from Beta community in Ogoniland, was Sunday evening flown to London for medical attention after receiving first aid treatment in two hospitals in Port Harcourt.

The group of Ogoni youths barricaded the East-West Road around the Port Harcourt Refinery, the Eleme Indorama Petroleum Company, and the Onne Sea Port, amongst others, chanting anti-police songs.

It was gathered that the youths were marching to the Government House, Port Harcourt, through the East-West Road and Aba Road when they were dispersed by the police using teargas at Akpajo junction, Eleme.

Commenting on the incident on Sunday, MOSOP condemned what it described as the high handedness and excessive use of force by the police to stop the SRM rally and warned that it would not accept the spilling of the blood of any Ogoniman in the political crisis in the state.

In a statement issued yesterday, President of MOSOP, Mr. Legborsi Pyagbara, said the action of the police violated the fundamental human rights of the people.

Pyagbara said: “We had hoped that politics in this dispensation will be played with civility, decency and would be devoid of political violence. The current level of political intolerance in the country and in Rivers State in particular is deeply troubling and condemnable.

“Recognising that the Ogoni people had made so much sacrifice for democracy which is being enjoyed in the country today and for which we have not benefited commensurably, we deplore the situation where any Ogoniman would become the first victim to be sacrificed on the altar of political acrimony or political violence in Rivers State.

“Even if Senator Abe or members of his group had committed any offence, there were civilised and lawful options available that the police could have adopted in dealing with the situation instead of the resort to violence and shooting.

“At least, the fundamental rights of these citizens to peaceful assembly and association guaranteed by our constitution and international human rights law should have been respected.

“In the present circumstances, we consider the action of the police as unprofessional, insensitive and an unfortunate demonstration of the growing regime of impunity in the country which we must all rise up to tame if democracy must survive.

‘No matter what may have happened, the group or Senator Abe did not merit such level of cruelty.
“As MOSOP had warned recently on Ogoni Day, never again shall we allow the blood of any Ogoni person, irrespective of political persuasions, political parties or affiliations, to be spilled needlessly in the name of politics.”

He called on the Inspector General of Police (IG), Muhammed Abubakar, and the federal government to urgently conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation into the incident with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice.