Police Over-heating Rivers Polity -Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Leyii Kwanee has cautioned the police to stop overheating the polity in the state.

Kwanne in a telephone interview with The Tide Sunday, shortly on arrival from Lagos State where he went for a church retreat, said it was wrong for the police to arrest the leader of the House, Hon. Chidi Lloyd in a case of accident where he was not the driver but a passenger.

The Deputy Speaker who is a lawyer, said there was no traffic offence that made a passenger culpable and even if there was a case of man slaughter or reckless driving it was the driver that may be the offender and not the passenger or occupant of the car.

He wondered what aspect of the law that the police was invoking if not a show of partisanship and vendetta.

“By my training as a lawyer, I know that sections 36(5) of the 1999 constitution guarantees presumption of innocence in favour of an accused. Facts made available to me show that the leader who is still physically weak was not driving the car as at the time the accident occurred. That the leader was himself injured in the unfortunate accident. That the driver of the vehicle had since reported to the police and was cooperating with the police. The question is why arrest the leader when he was not the driver of the vehicle.”

Hon. Kwanee who is also the chairman, Parliamentary Exchange and Mentorship Programme of the Pan African Parliament, said that it was because of this reason that well meaning Nigerians have been calling for the redeployment of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu whom, he said had abandoned his duties for partisan politics.

The Deputy Speaker further said that the development was a calculated attempt to drag the State governor’s name into the mud and demonize the leader of the House.

He also said the development portends danger for the nation’s democracy and advised the police to be professional and shun any attempt by anyone to use them to cause disorder and chaos in Rivers State in order to declare a state of emergency, intended to give PDP an advantage before the 2015 general elections.

“The police should not overheat the polity with any sensational report likely to mislead the good people of Rivers State”, he said.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State government has accused the police of lying in an attempt to justify its arrest of the Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Chidi Lloyd, and discredit the Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

In a statement in Port Harcourt, the Chief Press Secretary to the Rivers State Governor, David Iyofor, said that, Governor Amaechi has no private plane or jet as claimed by the police and Hon. Lloyd was nowhere near the plane that took the governor from Port Harcourt to Abuja.

The statement said that Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi was about to leave for Abuja when he was informed that the Rivers State Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu had ordered that the plane (which is not the governor’s private jet, as claimed by the police) cannot leave Port Harcourt because Hon. Lloyd was in the plane and about to ‘escape’ with Governor Amaechi.

It said it was shocked that several calls were put across to CP Mbu that were not answered, and that CP Mbu later showed up and when the governor asked him, he denied giving such an order. He then went on and on, making a baseless, noisy argument that no one could comprehend.

Governor Amaechi the statement said, put it to him that he (Mbu) came to search the plane for Chidi Llyod and told him to go ahead and search the plane. Mbu continued talking endlessly, showing absolutely no respect or regard for the office of the Governor of Rivers State who is the Chief Security Officer of the State.

It said Governor Amaechi then called the Inspector-General(IG) of Police; while the governor was speaking with the IG on phone, CP Mbu was shouting at the governor, on top of his voice, trying to disrupt the conversation between the Governor and the IG to the shock and disbelief of those that were there.

It was when Governor Amaechi arrived Abuja later in the evening, last Friday, that he was informed that Hon Chidi Lloyd was arrested in his (Lloyd’s) house in the presence of his family and lawyer. And Hon. Lloyds’ lawyer had confirmed that he was arrested in his house.

President Goodluck Jonathan (5th right), President, Church of Christ in Nations, Garki Abuja, Rev. Dachollom Datiri (5th left), Chaplain, Aso Villa Chapel, Ven. Obioma Onwuzurumba (3rd right), Chief of Staff, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe (right) and others after the 1st Sunday of the Year Church Service at Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), Area 1 Garki Abuja, yesterday.