COURT STOPS APC LG CONGRESS IN RIVERS AMIDST TENSION, STAMPEDE, PANDEMONIUM

Admin l Saturday, May 12, 2018

  
PORT HARCOURT, Rivers, Nigeria – A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has granted an Interlocutory Injunction, restraining the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, from holding its local government congress scheduled for Saturday, May 12.

Earlier, there was stampede in the vicinity of the Rivers State judiciary as security personnel from the Federal-Special Anti-robbery Squad, F-SARS, and operatives of the Department of State Security, DSS, shot into the air to disperse some protesters, on Friday, in Port Harcourt. The security agents also released tear-gas cannisters to disperse protesters who were members of a faction of the APC loyal the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. 

After the pandemonium had simmered down, Justice Chiwendu Nwogu, who delivered judgement on the motion on notice, barred the APC from going on with the congress and adjourned till 26th of June for hearing. The protesters had gone to the court premises to forestall counsels to Senator Magnus Ngei Abe’s group from securing an injunction restraining officials of the party from conducting the local government congress, slated for Saturday, May 12.

The pro-Amaechi supporters who started arriving the premises at about 6.am, were ferried by commercial buses which were parked along Azikiwe Road. After locking the main entrance into the court with padlock, the protesters displayed some placards accusing Governor Nyesom Wike of interfering with the internal affairs of the APC by ordering security agencies to chase them away from the court.

One of the protesters said they were mobilised to come to the court to stop the court from granting the injunction to prevent the APC state secretariat from conducting the local government congress on Saturday, May 12. Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Emma Aguma, told journalists at the premises of the court that the pro-Amaechi supporters destroyed property belonging to the state judiciary. 

He expressed dismay at the violent attempt by some APC supporters to close down the state judiciary. Aguma said a vehicle belonging to a Senior Magistrate, Sokari Andrew-Jaja, was destroyed as the protesters threw bottles and other dangerous weapons into the premises of the state judiciary.

Some youths and supporters of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, led to the premises of the court by the former Publicity Secretary and former Caretaker Committee Chairman, Ikwerre Local Government Area, Samuel Nwanosike, later destroyed the padlock with which the pro-Amaechi supporters locked the gates to allow lawyers, Journalists, litigants and the public access to the court.

Snippets of information that Senator Abe’s group was out to secure a court injunction restraining the APC from holding its local government congress elected a combustive from the pro-Amaechi group. The pro-Amaechi group in press statements, Thursday, May 10, insisted that the local congress will hold in spite of spirited efforts by the pro-Abe group to thwart the process.

The events that unfolded led to a temporary closure of the State’s Judiciary Complex and the brutalization of some journalists, litigants and lawyers by bandits around the court premises. In the same vein, a Rivers court had, on Friday, May 4, served motion on notice on the APC, however, the leader of the party in the state and the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, had denied knowledge of such notice.

On record, the court had sat, on Thursday, May 3,  to hear the motion on notice as presented my counsel of a faction of the APC who were barred from the ward congress seeking to stop the planned LG congress today. Meantime, after the pandemonium had simmered down, Justice Chiwendu Nwogu, who delivered judgement on the motion on notice, barred APC from going on with the congress and adjourned till 26th of June for hearing.

One of the counsels to the applicants, Henry Bellow said: “I am counsel for the members of the APC who were unconstitutionally excluded from participating in the purported congress even after they had satisfied the conditions precedence to their participation in the congress according to APC guidelines.

“They paid money for nomination forms. They paid but got to APC secretariat, it was locked only to hear that winners have emerged in the congress and it is against the constitution of the party.”

Meanwhile, Cuturu Eddeh, counsel to APC, who was sent from the national headquarters to take over the matter, accused the state legal adviser of the party, Mr. Chiwikpe Chieme of professional misconduct, adding that he (Chiwikpe) does not have the mandate to represent APC on the matter.

Eddeh said: “This matter was brought to Port Harcourt from Bori on Monday. Him (Chiwikpe) coming to say he represented the APC is wrong. He went there and made damaging comments and representation of APC. The Chairman of the party did not instruct him to stand in for the matter. I have a letter from the national party to represent the party. He knows the implication of that.

“Chiwikpe does not have the right to represent the APC and make any submission on its behalf, he has been suspended by the party since last year.” Meantime, the Attorney General of the state, Aguma said: “The APC supporters came here and closed the court, but youths of Rivers State came and opened it. The police behaved well except for the men of Special Anti-Robbery Squad, who were shooting at Rivers youths. 

“I am surprised that there was no casualties. My gratitude is to the youths of the state who came out en masse  to chase the unrully APC supporters away. The court was totally destroyed. The judge that came to work this morning, His Lordship Andrew Jaja was malhanded and his car totally vandalised. 

“What is happening is not related to court it is APC verses APC and they came to close the court. Tomorrow they will come to say that the state is unsafe. They are not politicians. We are prepared to lay down our lives. Never again will courts in this state be closed again. They did it in 2014, they will not do it again.”