Another Attack on APC rally ground in Umunachi, Omuma LGA, Rivers

*APC Supporters defiled attack, insisted on going ahead with the rally 

*Cars, canopies vandalized

Eric Olusesan/Port Harcourt

All Progressives Congress, APC, Rivers State said early this Monday morning, a band of marauding thugs dressed in Police camouflage and riding in Hilux vans stormed the Umunachi community Rally ground for the party Campaign in Omuma Local Government Area of Rivers State, pulling down canopies and vandalized vehicles parked at the venue.

APC in a press statement signed by Sogbeye Eli, the Spokesman APC 2023 Rivers Campaign Council said “Eyewitness accounts report that the few Policemen on ground at the time of the attack as saying that they could not repel same since they were not only outnumbered but recognized some of the attackers as their colleagues who are attached to Government House, Port Harcourt”.

APC noted that this attack, though unprovoked, was not without notice, because ahead of the planned visit to Omuma Local Government Area by the Tonye Cole/Innocent Barikor governorship campaign trail today, threats to attack and stop the gubernatorial candidate of the APC from campaigning in that LGA had been made allegedly by Hon. Kelechi Nwogu, Member representing Omuma Constituency at the Rivers State House of Assembly and PDP candidate for the Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency at the February 25 elections, and the Omuma Council Chairman, Mr. Chisom Nwaiwu.

During the attack, Generators were carted away, while vehicles and canopies were destroyed by attackers.

The party said “consequent upon these threats, the Leader of the APC in Omuma Local Government Area, Mr. Onyekachi Ojiegbe (alias Atiku) petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command to notify him of the impending attack. The Commissioner, it was gathered, minuted the petition to the Officer-in-Charge,O/C Operations of the State Command who in turn detailed the Police Area Commanders at Oyigbo and Bori to swing into necessary preemptive action.

According to the party unfortunately, even though three detachment of the Police were deployed to Omuma by the Oyigbo Area Commander, the dare-devil thugs invaded the Rally venue at dawn just after majority of the Police contingent left to refresh themselves ahead of the arrival of the State Campaign train.

The party further said that the said Rally venue was duly cleared by Mr. Ojiegbe in the face of the deprivation imposed on opposition political parties in the use of public school spaces for campaigns by the draconian, anti-democratic Executive Orders of the Nyesom Wike Administration. 

The Rivers APC 2023 said it has broken no law by Campaigning across the state.

Campaign Council condemned the attack in no uncertain terms said the party has always complied with the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022 and never forced its way into any public school or government facility for the purposes of campaign to warrant these provocative attacks. 

Sogbeye Eli said the party has restricted their members to providing alternative venues for our candidates to speak to Rivers people.

Calling for the arrest of those allegedly fingered in the recent attack the party said it is incumbent, therefore, on institutions of State operating in Rivers State to bring this primitive ambush on democracy to a definitive end.

 “In particular, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Okon Effiong Okon, should immediately order that Kelechi Nwogu and Chisom Nwaiwu be arrested to commence investigation of their roles in this attack this morning. Anything short of their arrest and prosecution is unacceptable to us and we hope that the Police Commissioner would not attend to this minimum demand with the same lethargy that previous attacks on our Rallies in Port Harcourt, Oyigbo and Opobo/Nkoro LGAs by these notorious elements were treated with that has given rise to the audacity and impunity for criminals to continue trampling on the fundamental rights of APC members to campaign in their own State”.

The party said that with the 2023 elections only a matter of weeks away, the President and Commander-in-Chief should prevail on the Inspector-General of Police and Director-General of the Department of Security Services to avert anarchy in Rivers State.

However, after the initial disruption, APC supporters mustered courage and insisted on going on with the campaign rally at the same venue with minimal comfort. 

The Rivers state Police Command had no reacted to the incident at the time of filing this report. The rally ground was gradually massing up with supporters.