Amid accusations and counter accusations over the brains behind the recent politically-motivated violence in Ulakwo, Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, an opposition political party in the state, Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD), has warned warring political parties in the area to desist from attacking its members and supporters or be prepared to face consequential reprisal attacks.
The party particularly frowned at the attacks and unwarranted destruction of property belonging to its state legal adviser, Barrister ThankGod Nwugha in Umuokom Ulakwo, Etche, by thugs suspected to be members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) penultimate Saturday.
The state Chairman of ACD, Hon Echezolam Nweke, gave the warning while speaking to The Tide correspondent over the political crisis which engulfed Ulakwo, displacing thousands and forcing many to flee for their lives.
Nweke, who condemned the violence in its entirety, wondered why a disagreement between two rival parties – PDP and APC – would be used as a disguise to attack ACD members and destroy their houses.
He criticised a situation where one family would hold Etche people to ransom, saying, “Prince Emma Anyanwu and his son, Charles, would not be allowed to destroy Etche because of their family’s political interest”.
Nweke alleged that the thugs, who attacked Nwugha and destroyed his house in Ulakwo, were recruited and sponsored by the PDP chieftain and his son, and condemned the act as barbaric. Both persons denied it.
The ACD chieftain said that the situation, if not checked, could throw the area back to the dark days of anarchy and violence during which people were slaughtered because of the inordinate ambition of a few for political control of the area, even as he called on the state Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, to intervene urgently with a view to bringing the ugly situation to normalcy.
Also speaking, Barrister Nwugha described the attacks on him and the destruction of his house as shocking, adding that the fight for the control of the area was between PDP and APC, stressing that he was neither a PDP nor APC member to be caught in the web of the crisis.
“I am shocked at the whole situation because I am neither a member of APC nor PDP. I also do not belong to any cult group.They went into my house, and shot sporadically, destroying my window glasses. They even entered my parlour and bedroom, thinking that I was inside the house.
“When they finally discovered that I was not inside the house, they went on rampage; stormed my mother’s house nearby, ransacked her house, and carted away N200,000 she kept inside her safe deposit box,” he claimed.
Nwugha said that it took the swift intervention of a combined team of operatives of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) and other security men to bring the situation under control, alleging that in an effort to restore law and order to the area, two military personnel were shut by thugs hired by a chieftain of one of the political parties in a cross-fire.