A Port Harcourt High Court presided over by Hon Justice Adolphus Enebeli has ruled that the police has a constitutional right to arrest, investigate and prosecute the purportedly impeached Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly Hon Otelema Amachree in connection with any crime he commits in the discharge of his duty.
Delivering the judgment today, the court dismissed the case brought by the former Speaker seeking to restrain the police from arresting and investigating him in connection with an allegation he made about a plot to assassinate the Rivers State Governor Hon Chibuike Amaechi which he could not substantiate.
Reacting to the judgment, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State congratulated the judiciary and the courage of the judge and called on the Inspector General of Police to arrest and investigate the claims made by the former Speaker.
According to the PDP, by this judgment, those who accused the former Speaker of merely raising false alarm have been vindicated.
The party through a statement issued by Jerry Needam, Special Adviser on Media to the state chairman, Hon Felix Obuah said the court’s ruling is a signal to false alarmists to be cautious as the judiciary is not meant for shielding crimes or providing cover to suspects.
The statement stressed that the ruling has also strengthened the confidence of the people in the Nigerian judiciary as the last hope of the common man, and cannot be for the highest bidder or under the apron string of an inordinately ambitious state governor.
Urging the police to be thorough in its investigation, Mr Needam said that the allegation of a plot to kill the Governor of the state is so weighty and cannot just be wished away as mere political rhetoric.
He therefore urged the former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Amachree to submit himself for interrogation by the police to avoid a situation where the former Speaker will be declared wanted by the Police as was the case with Hon. Chidi Lloyd, a situation that may embarrass the State. However information available shows that the former Speaker, upon hearing the court judgment has fled the country on his way to a neighbouring country, a move many believe is aimed at frustrating the judgment of the court and the efforts of the Police, the statement added.
The PDP leadership further urged the Inspector General of Police not to hesitate to prefer the relevant charges against Mr Otelemaba Amachree if found wanting when he is eventually arrested, noting that the false alarm raised by the former Speaker has dented the image of the police in the state.
In a related development, the State PDP described as laughable, the allegation by the “27” members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who alleged that Hon Chidi Lloyd is going blind. They noted that if the violent law maker has been held incommunicado as alleged by the lawmakers, how then did they know that he was going blind in the absence of a medical evidence.
How can any sensible man trivialize and joke with a life threatening violence visited on an innocent man by Hon Lloyd. These “27” law makers simply show the world that they are inhuman and lack what it takes to be law makers in a decent society.
The PDP urged its members and the people of Rivers state to remain calm and law abiding as anything built on falsehood will surely fall. The PDP further observed that deceit has been the style of Hon Lloyd who hurriedly ran to the Government House Clinic to take a bed as if he was wounded in the fracas that he provoked in the House of Assemly whereas he was the main attacker. If the television footages did not show Hon Lloyd attacking Hon Chindah with the mace, then the story would have been twisted to suit them today.
While Rivers people are still watching with keen interest, the PDP calls on the governor to end the fragile state of peace which he ignited in Rivers State, Needam added.
