Governor Amaechi At It Again With Rivers State Police Command, Thinks 'Attack Is The Best Form Of Defense'

Yet again the Governor of Rivers State, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi is beating the drums he knows how to dance best. It has been reported that the Governor seems to have fallen out with no other person, but still the Rivers State police command. In the wake of the most recent urtication, the Rivers police command had to release a press statement as follows;

The Rivers State Police Command is once again constrained to respond to the spurious and wispy allegations against it and the false alarm raised by His Excellency, Rt Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, the Executive Governor of Rivers State, to the effect that the Command exposes Hon. Dakuku Peterside to danger by withdrawing policemen attached to him, and unsubstantiated killings and plan to arrest supporters of his party.

“It is strongly believed that the vituperation's are frustrating signs of the government’s inability to pressure the Command to release hardened criminals involved in heinous cases of murder, deadly cult activities, unlawful firearms possession, kidnappings and sundry acts of lawlessness that ordinarily would have been charged to court, but for the industrial action of the Rivers State Judiciary.

It is on record that since my assumption of duty as the Commissioner of Police six months ago, I have remained focused and committed to performing my constitutional duties and responsibilities of protecting lives and property amongst others. I have refused to be provoked or drawn in unnecessary responses to the avalanche of unsubstantiated allegations, in most cases wild imaginations that are predicated in falsehood that seem to be the penchant of the state government.”

Redeployment of C4i Policemen from Hon. Dakuku Peterside to their traditional duties of fighting violent crimes and their immediate replacement with the elite Special Protection Unit (SPU) has now been attributed to withdrawal of the policemen attached to him.

Cases of cultists’ related clashes that sometime resulted in deaths have suddenly been attributed to killing of political party supporters. The alleged killing of seven supporters of a political party is not only unfounded as the command has not received such report.

Arrests made on cases of unlawful possession of firearms, robbery, cultism and murder are now attributed to politics. What a mathematical wonder! Six suspects arrested and charged to court for unlawful possessions of firearms have now become over 400 supporters of a political party in our custody. The allegation of the purported plan to arrest 307 leaders of a political party is nothing but a ruse to whip up public sympathy. The command has no plan to arbitrarily arrest anybody. Anyone who is not planning to cause or foster violence or breach of public peace has no cause to fear or raise false alarm.”

While advising the state government not to turn security issues to “comical entertainment,It is strongly believed that the vituperations are frustrating signs of the government’s inability to pressure the command to release hardened criminals involved heinous cases of murder, deadly cult activities, unlawful firearms possession, kidnappings and sundry acts of lawlessness that ordinarily would have been charged to court but for the industrial action of the Rivers State Judiciary.”

(RIVERS State Police Commissioner, Mr. Dan Bature,)