TWENTY-THREE local government chairmen in Rivers State alleged on Thursday that they were being "incessantly harassed and intimidated" by the police in the state.
The council chairmen, who briefed newsmen at the Government House in Port Harcourt, explained that white Hilux vehicles owned by the State Police Command had been trailing them.
They said the intention of the police was to arrest them on trumped-up charges and put them in their custody until after the elections.
The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Ikwerre Local Government Area, Mr. Amadi Wabueze, said that he escaped death by the whisker on Thursday when a group of policemen stormed his residence in Aluu and shot sporadically at his gate.
Wabueze told newsmen that the impact of the gunshots had forced the gate to his residence open, even as the armed security operatives ransacked his house without any search warrant.
The Ikwerre council chairman stated that he would have being shot dead if he had not left his residence few minutes before the police came and forced the gate open.
He said, "Not quite five minutes after I left my residence, I heard the sound of gunshots as I was driving. I tried to go back, but I was told not to go back because a Hilux van loaded with policemen was at my gate.
"They (police) ordered the gateman to open the gate and the man refused. They shot at the gate, forced it open and eventually made their way into the compound. They arrested my gardener.
"As we speak, they (police) are still there shooting and scaring people away. They said they were looking for the CTC chairman and that they want to get him arrested. We have done nothing wrong other than being members of the All Progressives Congress."
He condemned the alleged use of force by the police and the Peoples Democratic Party to intimidate people, adding that members and supporters of the APC would not be intimidated by the police.
"The police should know that what they are doing is against the law. They are supposed to protect innocent citizens, irrespective of their party affiliations because the tax payers' money is being used to pay their salaries," Wabueze said.
Earlier, the spokesperson of the council chairmen, Mr. Orji Ngorfa, had called on the people of the state not to be intimidated by the police, saying that their resolve to vote for the APC on Saturday should not change.
Ngorfa, who is the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Eleme Local Government Area, explained that the people of the state would demonstrate that Rivers State belonged to the APC, adding that the people would resist the police within the confines of the law.
The Chairman of the Gokana Local Government Area, Mr. Kadilo Kabari, expressed worry over the situation in Gokana, saying that as of Thursday, members of four communities in the area had been on the run as a result of the constant shooting.
"They (police) storm communities where there has been no incident of armed robbery; they drive into the local government council with white Hilux vans just to intimidate the people.
"They (police) have been shooting in B-Dere, Kpo, Miebo and Bodo and scaring people away. We will not tolerate any use of force in Gokana because Gokana people will resist it," Kabari said.
Reacting to the claim by the Ikwerre caretaker committee chairman, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, said their men were only in Aluu on operations.
Mohammad explained that the presence of policemen in Aluu had nothing to do with the council chairman. He said the council boss was an alarmist.
"Our men were on operations at Aluu, which has nothing to do with the alarmist. I urge politicians to refrain from accusing the police of being after them. So long as one is innocent, he has nothing to fear," the state police spokesman said.
PUNCH.
