THE Rivers State government has extended the dusk-to-dawn curfew in Port Harcourt for another one week in order to sustain and consolidate on the peace already achieved.
And as government reiterated its resolve to rehabilitate any of the militiamen that denounces gangsterism and opts to live a normal life, the leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV), Ateke Tom, has written to Governor Celestine Omehia, requesting for amnesty.
The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Okey Wali, who announced the decision to extend the curfew by one week, said that the decision was reached following re-evaluation of the current security situation in the state by the State Executive Council. A one-week curfew was declared last Friday and was expected to end today.
Wali explained that the council deliberated on the security situation in the state and lauded the steps taken by the government to secure lives and property within Port Harcourt and its environs, which were recently turned into a theatre of war for one week by warring gangs.
Wali said the problem in the state is that the recent disturbances in Port Harcourt and its environs were basically acts of gangsterism and all such problems are being adequately handled by the security agencies, under the aegis of the Joint Task Force (JTF).
He stressed that internal security and defence of the country is the responsibility of the Federal Government of Nigeria, hence the deployment of soldiers to maintain law and order in the state capital.
In acknowledgement that residents of Port Harcourt were already groaning under the present security arrangements, the Attorney-General urged the people to bear the temporary inconvenience in the interest of peace in Port Harcourt and the state in general.
Tom said the Rivers State government considered as unfortunate calls by some indigenes of the state in collaboration with some non-indigenes for an emergency rule as a panacea for the recent disturbances.
According to him, the state government regards the call as most regrettable because there is no basis for such a call. The government then urged the elders involved in making inciting statements to retrace their steps and join hands to take the state to the next level.
Tom who was indicted by the Commander of the JTF, Brig.-Gen. Samuel Salihu, said he had earlier renounced violence, especially during the Okrika peace declaration of July 14, 2007. “I hereby formally renounce the use of violence to settle dispute and distance myself from same,” he said.
The NDV leader, who refuted allegation that he was involved in the shootings in Port Harcourt, said his group had embraced peace and even entered into peace covenant with other groups in Okrika. He expressed his full support for all peace efforts initiated by the government and all well-meaning groups.
A legal practitioner in the state, Mr. Ken Atsuwete, has lauded the restoration of relative calm in Port Harcourt but expressed regret that the innocent people are suffering more.
His words: “The troops carry out their activities as if the people are the militants. Everyday people are beaten up, their properties destroyed and the military collect bribe from those who violate the seven o’clock curfew period. My friend’s car was destroyed two days back just because he was two minutes away from 7.00 p.m. It is not fair. Is this method helping the innocent people?”
He added that the troops can work effectively in the city without destabilising the normal lives of the innocent citizens.
Atsuwete stressed that there are troops in Iraq, Sudan and other parts of the world who are not harassing the innocent people. He wondered why the soldiers in Port Harcourt are harassing innocent citizens.
The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Phelix Ogbaudu, who confirmed that there have been road-blocks everywhere in the city, said people should be allowed to move freely except between 7.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m., the period of the curfew.