PDP to IGP: Emulate army, investigate killings during Rivers Governorship poll

PORT HARCOURT, Rivers, Nigeria -The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has urged the Inspector General of Police, IGP Abubakar Mohammed Adamu to emulate the army by inaugurating a committee that would investigate the alleged killings carried out by the operatives of the Federal Anti Robbery Squad, F-SARS during the general elections in the state.

The state’s party chairman, Felix Obuah, who made the call yesterday in Port Harcourt, while briefing reporters, noted that such a committee would help check the call excesses of police  officers who violate the law and the electoral process. He particularly blamed the commander of F SARS in the state, Akin Fakorede for leading the outfit’s operatives to snatch ballot boxes and attack PDP members during the election.

Obuah added that “Mr. Akin Fakorede has over the years become a recurrent obstacle to the peaceful conduct of general elections in Rivers State; and he does so with provocative bravado and criminality.

“As we speak, one of the victims of Akin Fakorode’s assault, Dr. Ferry Gberegbe, a senior lecturer at the Ken Saro Wiwa Polytechnic has died of gunshot wounds, while Mr. Marvin Lezor Kpea-ue, Raymond Ledogo and several persons are presently battling with life-threatening injuries inflicted on them  by Akin Fakorode and his murderous gang.

He also said: “We commend the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Yusuf Tukur Buratai for iaugurating the Major-General TA Gagariga’s led Committee to probe the  allegations of misconduct, including the assassination attempt on our Governor, His Excellency Nyesom Ezenwo Wike by soldiers during the 2019 general elections.

“We wish to assure the Chief of Army Staff that the PDP will appear, present and prove before the Committee with facts and evidence of the atrocities committed by his  soldiers against the electoral process and the people of Rivers State before, during and after the 2019 general elections.

“In the same vein, we wish to call on the  Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Abubakar Mohammed Adamu to institute a similar panel to probe the brazen involvement of the Rivers State Commander of F-SARS, Mr. Akin Fakorode and his gang of police operatives in the organized  invasion of polling units, collation centers, abduction of electoral officers and the shooting and killing of innocent persons during the general elections.

Obuah also said that the PDP accepts the pronouncements of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has which noted that  it has the complete collated results of the Governorship and House of Assembly elections in 17 council areas and that 21 out of 32 State constituency results had already been declared and returned as elected before the electoral process was suspended.

He added: “However, we wish to draw the INEC’s attention to the fact that in addition to the 17 Local Government Areas with fully collated results, the elections also successfully held and results declared at the unit and ward levels in five of the six other Local Government Areas where full collation of results is still  pending.

“We therefore urge the INEC to follow its guidelines to fill the missing gap, if  any, in the collation process for the remaining five Local Government Areas by generating the full results from the unit results already in its custody and  declare our candidates the clear and unassailable winners of the 9th March 2019 Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers State.

“We commend the INEC for standing by the truth and for its courage and principled determination to ensure that the votes  of the people of Rivers State as freely and overwhelmingly expressed on the 9th of March 2019 in favour of the PDP effectively count.”