Amaechi Okonkwo
Dr Abiye Sekibo, Director General of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers State has alleged that the assassination attempt on him in the early hours of Friday was made by security agents attached to the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.
Rivers state woke up Friday to the report of a failed assassination bid on the one-time Minister of Transport, with the report saying that gunmen dressed in police uniform had opened fire on Sekibo’s vehicle, a Land Cruiser bulletproof jeep at the Rainbow Town in Port Harcourt, where he went to inspect the venue of a proposed presidential rally of the party.
In a press briefing later on, Friday Sekibo confirmed the incident saying that his car was riddled with bullets and the venue of the proposed rally set on fire, while policemen just stood watched.
“As we approached the site, those policemen who were watching the inferno opened fire on our vehicle. I looked at the Hilux vehicles, they were police Hilux vehicles attached to the Governor of Rivers State.”
His words; “At about 11:30 pm to 12:00 midnight, I received a call and the caller said the equipment at the sight that was being prepared for the PDP presidential rally is on fire. I told myself that is not possible but I said okay, let me go and see for myself. So, I asked my driver to bring out the car and took three policemen. Let’s go and see what is happening.
“The location is Rainbow Town by Amadi-Ama. As we approached the site, we saw a lineup of Police Hilux vehicles on the right side of the road and the Policemen were looking at the fire. So, as we approached them, I was about to tell my driver to stop so that I can talk to the policemen.
“The next thing, those policemen who are watching the fire opened fire on my vehicle. So I told my driver not to stop, but to keep on going. We drove off and were shot from all sides.
“I looked at those vehicles, they were Hilux vehicles attached to the Governor of Rivers State. They shot one of our tyres and as we were going, the driver was finding it difficult to control the vehicle.
“When we got to Oando Filling Station at Trans-Amadi, I told the driver to clear by the filling station. And these Police Hilux vehicles, five in number, drove past us heading towards Ada-George”.
He wondered whether that is what Rivers state has been reduced to as he observed; “So, this governor who said he is giving us a place to use cannot stand us preparing another site for a rally that he doesn’t want to hold? He sent policemen attached to him to go and destroy equipment that are clearing the place. As I speak to you now, he has barricaded the place with Government House Police, to make sure that pressmen don’t gain access to the site”.
The DG, of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Rivers state pleaded with the Inspector General of Police to call the police attached to Governor Wike to order.
“They want to reduce this state to a state of anarchy”, he alleged.
I call on the President of this country, Muhammadu Buhari, to please, call the Governor of Rivers state to order. He cannot cow us; we will continue to declare our stand as supporters of Atiku Abubakar in this state. Rivers people stand for Atiku Abubakar and we will support him”, Sekibo affirmed.
