The Presidency and the Nigerian Police High Command have come under attack over the brutal disruption of Tuesday’s rally in the Federal Capital, Abuja, organised by the Anti-Corruption Network to protest against the endless impunity being perpetrated in Rivers State by the controversial Police Commissioner, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu.

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Rivers State Chapter, said it received the news of the police action with great shock.

“That the police could brazenly roll out its arsenal and viciously crush a peaceful protest by Nigerian citizens is not only regrettable but also condemnable as it cannot be defended under any circumstances,” Rivers State APC Interim Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, said in a statement issued in the state capital, Port Harcourt.

He said “it beats the imagination why the police in the federal capital ruthlessly attacked innocent protesters, including pregnant and children, with large doses of teargas while also shooting sporadically and spraying hot water on the marchers in a desperate bid to crush the rally.”

Dr. Ikanya noted that “with this sad turn of events, it is now obvious to the entire world that the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are behind the instability and impunity going on in Rivers State.”

He commended the Anti-Corruption Network and its Executive Secretary, former member of the House of Representatives, Dino Melaye, for standing up to be counted on the part of democracy.

“With people like Melaye and his Anti-Corruption Network, there is still hope that Nigeria’s troubled democracy could still be salvaged from the hands of anti-democratic forces led by the Presidency and the PDP,” APC concluded.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rivers State Chapter, has set up a three-man committee to compile a comprehensive list of atrocities by the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu since he assumed office  in Rivers State in February, 2013.

The three-man committee is headed by Chief Andy Nweye, with Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze as secretary and Chief Emeka Bekee as member.

Inaugurating the Committee at the state Secretariat  of APC in  Port Harcourt,  the state APC Interim Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, noted that the members were chosen based on merit, and expressed confidence that they would do a good job.

“This committee is made up of well-informed political experts and meticulous researchers, so I expect you to come up with a list of not less than 100 sins of CP Mbu against Rivers State and its people for formal submission to the United Nations as it seems that the Nigerian institutions in charge of the Police Force  are toying with the security and lives of the people of Rivers State. “True, the assignment is difficult but CP Mbu has made your work easy by his brazen partisanship in favour of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. As a result of his overzealousness to impress his masters as an undeclared member of the PDP, the police commissioner commits a fresh sin against the good people of Rivers State almost on a daily basis,” Dr. Ikanya said.

Dr Ikanya regretted the day Mbu was redeployed to Rivers State, saying: “Since he assumed duty here in February, 2013, Rivers State has not known peace and the state now perches at the edge of the precipice, security-wise.”

The Rivers State APC interim chairman reiterated the party’s position that Mbu be immediately redeployed outside Rivers State as he is a curse to the state and her people.

He regretted that all arguments by well-meaning Nigerians, including the National Assembly, for Mbu’s redeployment have fallen on deaf ears of the police authorities in Abuja and the Federal Government.

He, however, expressed strong belief that “there will surely be a day of reckoning, when Mbu will be called to account for his stewardship in Rivers State. When that day of reckoning comes, the work of your committee will play a big role in getting Mbu to pay for his sins against Rivers State and its people”.

Dr. Ikanya gave the committee two weeks to complete its work and submit its report.

He also used the occasion to express dismay on the stand of the Labour Party, PDP and the ousted Chairman of APGA, Mr Vincent Umeh and other groups that have condemned the directive of the national leadership of APC that its members  in the National Assembly should shoot down any executive bill from the Presidency until the anomalies happening in Rivers State were corrected.

“It is sad that what some of these organisations are saying is that they prefer that Rivers State should be subjected to the type of impunity acts associated with  Mbu and his cohorts instead of calling the Presidency to order as regards its wicked role in this macabre dance in Rivers State.

With this development, we now know our foes and friends. It is very sad that not minding all that Rivers State has sacrificed and contributed to build this nation, our plight no longer counts but God is watching”, he said.

Responding, the Committee Chairman, Chief Andy Nweye, thanked the party chairman for the confidence reposed in them, and promised that they would live up to expectations.

Meanwhile, the Presidency and the Nigerian Police High Command yesterday came under attack over the brutal disruption of Tuesday’s rally in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, organised by the Anti-Corruption Network to protest against the endless impunity being perpetrated in Rivers State by the controversial Police Commissioner, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu.

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Rivers State Chapter, said in a statement issued in the state capital, Port Harcourt, that it received the news of the police action with great shock.

The party expressed outrage that the police went to the extent of attacking pregnant women and children who were part of the peaceful protest.

“That the police could brazenly roll out its arsenal and viciously crash a peaceful protest by Nigerian citizens is not only regrettable but also condemnable as it cannot be defended under any circumstances,” Rivers State APC Interim Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, said in the statement.

He said “it beats the imagination why the police in Abuja ruthlessly attacked innocent protesters, including pregnant women and children, with large doses of teargas while also shooting sporadically and spraying hot water on the marchers in a desperate bid to crush the rally”.

Ikanya said that “with this sad turn of events, it is now obvious to the entire world that the Presidency and the Peoples democratic Party (PDP) are behind the instability and impunity going on in Rivers State”.

He commended the Anti-Corruption Network and its executive Secretary, and former member of the House of Representatives, Dino Melaye, for standing up to be counted on the part of democracy.

“With people like Melaye and his Anti-Corruption Network, there is still hope that Nigeria’s troubled democracy could still be salvaged from the hands of anti-democratic forces led by the Presidency and the PDP,” the APC added.