Like an embattled prophet in the wilderness crying for Justice, Peace and Salvation, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike prior to the rerun polls of December 10, 2016, repeatedly alerted the Nigerian nation of danger. A real and apparent danger that could fritter away all the gains of the nation’s march to true democracy since the dawn of this republic, in 1999.

The governor’s main concerns were that supposed independent public institutions were bent on hijacking and manipulating the rerun elections in the state, by brute force, in favour of the ruling, All Progressives Congress (APC). To achieve that, the governor alerted, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC leadership on one hand and the APC candidates for the rerun, their party leaders and the security forces on the other, had been holding series of nocturnal meetings.

Governor Wike shouted loud enough for all to hear, and even petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) about plots to use armed Police men and soldiers to not merely intimidate the ordinary voters and political opponents but hijack the process and return results in favour of all APC candidates.

On a live radio phone-in programme preceding the rerun elections, in Port Harcourt, Wike revealed that all Senatorial and House of Representatives candidates on the platform of the APC have been assigned sizeable number of soldiers, armed Mobile Police men and men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp. The governor even read out the list of security team leaders assigned the hatchet jobs.

The Governor then called on all relevant authorities to review the dangerous plot because the use of armed security at polling units, stations and collation centres have no place in the nation’s electoral act. He challenged the Police high command to refute his allegation of postings to APC candidates, if it was untrue.

Uptil the date of the rerun last Saturday, no refutal was made, but virtually everything Governor Wike alerted the nation about came to pass, in as shameful a manner that questions the integrity of not just the INEC, the security and the Civil Defence Corps but indeed, the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency and the future of democracy.

Media reports say in Isiokpo, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, fully armed Police, Army and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chased away all Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) agents, the media and Corps members before taking over the collation of results in that area.

The same was true of Ngo collation centre in Andoni local government area, where the Military Commander insisted that only APC agents be allowed to collate results. In Wards 3 and 8 in same area, an APC Chieftain and one-time Commissioner for Works, Engr. Sampson Ngerebara allegedly disrupted the process and was allowed to go scot-free.

In Eleme Local Government Area, a combined force of soldiers and heavily armed Mobile Police allegedly chased away all PDP agents, members of the mass media and Corps members before taking over the collation of results with APC agents.

Like Eleme, in Opobo/Nkoro, election materials meant for Opobo were hijacked with the help of Soldiers and the Police and taken to the personal residence of a one-time National APC chairmanship candidate from the area, Sam Sam Jaja. All protests fell on deaf ears as the residence was fortified with armed soldiers to enhance the production of fake results.

In Ward 3, Bodo, the APC House of Representatives candidate, Maurice Poronen accompanied by armed Police and Soldiers smashed ballot boxes and disrupted voting. One person who resisted was killed. The same was true of Khana, where voting was also disrupted.

In Port Harcourt, INEC staff along with APC chieftains, protected by heavily armed soldiers and the Police were seen writing/collating results at the Liverpool VIP Hotel and Unique Resort Limited, No. 4 St. Michaels Crescent, Tombia Street Extension, GRA.

At Okochiri, Okrika, suspected men of the State Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) led by two APC chieftains, a Okrika LGA Caretaker Committee Chairman, a lawyer chief, in a Gestapo style sting operation raided the polling station and made-away with ballot boxes and other sensitive materials.

Luck however ran out of the civilians, when upon alighting from the security vehicle, near the Port Harcourt refinery were cornered by irate voters. It took the intervention of well-meaning Nigerians to save the life of one of the Chiefs, while the other managed to escape.

In Abua/Odual, former NDDC Managing Director, now Menitan Alabo of APC allegedly smashed ballot boxes and was made to answer to a neutral Police team.

Also, former Governor Ameachi’s Power Commissioner, Austin Wokocha, was arrested near Omoku with a large catche of arms and ammunition alongside an army of fully-armed bandits. He too is now helping the Ahoada Police with their investigations.

These were only some of the accounts by the media, Ordinary voters and agents of the PDP have even more heart-rending tales of horror to tell, as several voters asked, if this was the kind of democracy that Nigeria had in 2015, would the APC dream of winning the Presidential and other governorship election?.

These were in spite of the fact that the Rivers State governor repeatedly alerted the general public of disturbing intelligence reports reaching him from the APC, the Army and the Police. In that live radio programme preceding the elections, where Governor Wike alerted the public of the allocation of several armed Mobile Police officers and Soldiers to APC candidates and leaders for the purposes of influencing the outcome, and actually named leaders of each time, he also expressed fears for his life and those of his people.

Uptil the date of the election none of the institutions denied what then seemed an ‘ordinary’ allegation. But from the media accounts in the field, especially in the case of Maurice Poronen, the APC House of Representatives candidate, it became clear that Wike was stating facts.

Another was the inciting remarks by the APC leadership in the state, which charged its faithful to shoot, if they are shot at. No one without arms can shoot back at an assassin. That tacitly confirmed the Governor’s alert that the APC might have accumulated arms and ammunition and recruited Boko Haram fighters to complement the efforts of the soldiers and armed Police men.

What confirms the allegation better than arrest of Wokocha with huge arms catche along the Omoku road? Who were the heavily armed bandits in his company? Foreign fighters? Or Boko Haram?

Even so, many are skeptical that the reported arrests made in Abua and Omoku would yield any positive result, since those involved are members of the APC.

Such skeptists quickly point to the Printing Syndicate earlier arrested in Port Harcourt with fake INEC electoral materials, in readiness for last Saturday’s re-run elections in the state. Although Director of the Printing Press actually named who had commissioned him, nothing is yet heard of the Police investigation. At some point, a kite was flown that the said materials might have been planted by PDP agents, even when, the culprit accepted complicity on a tape that went viral on the social media.

Such is the danger opposition politics today faces. It is very unlike the near condusive political atmosphere that produced the APC’s Muhammadu Buhari led Presidency, to which a sitting President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, conceded defeat.

It is indeed, a shame that elections will degerate to mini-war-fare in parts of Nigeria, while the president congratulates winner of a peaceful presidential election in Ghana. What effort is being made by the Presidency to replicate, in Nigeria, what he was roundly applauding in Ghana.

If what played-out in Rivers State is the kind of democracy the APC-led government, INEC, the security can give then, ‘Nigeria We hail thee’.

There is however, some hope left. In spite of the measure of intimidation, there still must be left, some men and women of courage and conviction in the Judiciary. It may well be the last hope for true democracy, unless another set of raids are launched on the courageous few.

My Agony is that the rigging of the re-run polls in Rivers was openly and brazenly done in aid of the APC by security men with constitutional responsibility of ensuring peace and order, and more importantly support the INEC to deliver, free, fair and credible elections. And paid with tax payers money and resources partly sourced from Rivers State.

Sadly, the Rivers re-run ended-up as yet another trust-betrayed and a tacit confirmation of an alarm which has become, Wikes Prophecy.