APC wants assault on members probed

Mr Francis Odesanya, Rivers State Commissioner of Police

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers, has called on security agencies to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of assault and arson against its members and their property.

The Rivers State Police Command had confirmed the arsonists attack on the residence of Lloyd, a former leader of Rivers Assembly and chieftain of APC.

Chief Davies Ikanya, APC chairman in the state told newsmen in Port Harcourt on Sunday that members of his party were being assaulted daily.

Ikanya said that the burning of Dr Chidi Lloyd’s house was a new angle to the intimidation of APC members in the state by the opponents.

He said that leaders and members of his party were being arrested, detained and charged to court on trumped-up charges before the State High Court in Port Harcourt by the Rivers government.

According to Ikanya, the Rivers government is setting precedence by revisiting a `Noelle Presque’ entered in 2013 to discontinue a trial against Lloyd.

“This is the first time a Noelle Presque entered is being revisited. It is purely a move to get the former leader by all means.

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led government in the state is not willing to wait for proper investigation by the Nigeria Police, or follow the law on issues involving APC members,” he said.

Ikanya further alleged that a landed property of APC’s State Women Leader, Mrs Caroline Nagbo, was invaded and vandalised by suspected political thugs that were on the run.

He called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Idris Ibrahim and Director General, Department of State Services (DSS), Mr Mammam Daura, to check the “madness in Rivers’’.

“We call on the Nigeria Police, DSS and other security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice promptly,” he said.

The APC urged aggrieved youths in Niger Delta to desist from worsening the national economy in the face of recession through bombings and destruction of pipelines.