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LG Bosses Decry Rising Insecurity In Rivers …Accuse Police Of Attack On Obio/Akpor
The chairmen of local government councils in Rivers State have disagreed with the Rivers state Commissioner of Poilce,Mr Mbu Joseph Mbu that crime rate in the state has reduced since he took over the management of security in the state.
The chairmen who made this known on Saturday in Port Harcourt while speaking with Journalist in Port Harcourt, noted that the rate of crime, kidnapping, armed robbery and general insecurity has gone up since the current Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu took charge of the state police command three months ago.
The Caretaker Committee Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state, Mr. Chikaodi Dike, accused the police of masterminding the May 14, 2003 explosion that damaged some sections of the council secretariat at Rumuodomaya, near Port Harcourt.
It would be recalled that the Commissioner of Police last Thursday while briefing journalists said the crime rate in the state has reduced since he took charge, admitting that he was directed by the Inspector General of Police to submit every minutes of Rivers State security meetings to Abuja.
This development confirmed the earlier allegation by the state government that the Commissioner of Police was leaking security information to people in Abuja.
Chairman of Okrika Local Government Area, Barrister Tamuno Williams, disclosed that former militants, who ran away from the area are gradually returning to the communities to wreck havoc,adding that in less than two weeks, two incidents of vandalization of oil and gas pipelines belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) occurred at Okochiri community as well as near the council secretariat at Okrika mainland.
According to Williams, “in the past two weeks, we have experienced vandalization of pipelines belonging to NNPC at Okochiri and opposite the council secretariat. With all these happening, we believe we are having a decline in security and we are worried about this.”
Also speaking, Chairman of Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area, Mrs. Maureen Tamuno, described the level of criminality being perpetrated in the past few weeks, by some youths, suspected to be ex-militants, as the worst since 2011 when she became the council boss.
Tamuno, who was a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly between 2007 and 2011, said last weekend, a young man was shot dead in Ogu community by a group of armed men, who later escaped with the corpse of their victim through the water-ways.
Meanwhile, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Obio/Akpor Council, Mr. Dike has said that the presence of men of the Rumuodomaya Police Station inside the council secretariat when the explosion occurred was an indication that they masterminded the incident that damaged the generator house of the secretariat.
He said; “the explosion was masterminded by the police, let it be on record. The police were there when the explosion occurred and I met them. I got to the council secretariat to take over since the Federal High Court ordered the police to vacate. When I got there, all the police men were still on ground.”
Meanwhile, a medical doctor and member of Nigerian Medical Association in Rivers state, Dr Didi Chukwuemeka, who was abducted last week in Port Harcourt yesterday regained his freedom.
The Rivers State chapter of the NMA confirmed the release of Dr Chukwuemeka yesterday.
The NMA gave credit to the efforts of its members and the media for the release of the doctor but did not confirm if any ransom was paid or what was done to secure his release.
The Rivers State NMA chairman, Dr Ibiturokoemi Korubo, however said that the strike action will continue in spite of Dr Chukwuemeka’s release.
The NMA has said that from Tuesday June 18, all doctors would be withdrawn from all primary health centrs across the state and would only provide emergeency service at the secondary health centres.
Kurubo said doctors in the state were frequent targets and that more needed to be done to make doctors in Rivers State safe.
‘This was not just about Dr Chukwuemeka, it was about four doctors that had been kidnapped over the past two months. Where are the security agents? Did the security agents go out there to save Dr Didi?
The answer id no. Our demand is that the security situatin must improve. How can a doctor provide quality care for you when he is not sure of his safety? He queried.
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