RIVERS State Governor, Celestine Omehia yesterday condemned the call by some Ijaw elders for emergency rule in the state, accusing them of sponsoring youth unrest in the Niger Delta region.
Omehia has also ordered the demolition of thousands of houses along the waterfronts in Port Harcourt, the state capital, as part of efforts to rid the city of gang members.
Meanwhile, the state Police Commissioner, Mr. Phelix Ogbaudu, has expressed doubts over claims that wanted militia leader, Soboma George is dead. The Joint Task Force (JTF) yesterday extended its raid of suspected cult members, who have in the last week thrown the state into turmoil, to Okrika community.
Addressing a meeting of Rivers State stakeholders on the recent spate of unrest that had culminated in the declaration of a one-week curfew in Port Harcourt and its environs, Omehia yesterday expressed regrets that the security measures taken so far were not being appreciated by some Ijaw elders within and outside the state who had selfish goals.
Omehia said: “Some people from Rivers State and some from outside Rivers State who wanted to control Rivers State from their state where criminality is worse, decided to hold a meeting in Lagos, calling on the Federal Government to declare state of emergency in Rivers State.”
He continued: “Those people are enemies of Rivers State. They are the sponsors of the criminal activities in Rivers State. Any person who believes that we should not end the criminal activities going on in Rivers State does not mean well for all of us.”
The governor urged the presidency and federal agencies to ignore the call by the Ijaw elders and focus the enhancement of the security situation in the state.
Some Ijaw elders, led by Chief Edwin Clark had on Monday asked the Federal Government to declare emergency rule in Rivers State and after six months, conduct a free and fair gubernatorial election for the people to pick an acceptable governor.
Omehia said on the assumption of office in May, that he had set up the peace and reconciliation committee primarily to rehabilitate and economically empower youths involved in militancy and hostage taking, but this gesture was rebuffed by those whose activities had continued to dent the image of the state locally and internationally.
He said: “The miscreants, criminals, I won’t call them the militants, decided to shoot sporadically all over the place including the front of the Government House, took over the streets of Port Harcourt and all they were asking for was give us money.”
The governor said the miscreants had sponsors outside the state who want to sustain their loot for their own benefit. Omehia noted that to check the menace, he contacted the Federal Government, which directed the Chief of Defense Staff and the Acting Inspector General of Police to visit the state.
Omehia described the attack on Port Harcourt by the miscreants penultimate Saturday while the two security chiefs were in the city as disrespect to government and the highest level of lawlessness by persons who were not legally qualified to carry arms.
The governor, who explained that the recent disturbances had led to the deployment of soldiers in the state, noted that while this might seem unusual and improper, it was the only viable option to rid the state of miscreants.
On the curfew declared last Friday, the governor said it might be extended by additional three days depending on the progress made by the security agencies in their effort to rid the state of those behind the recent disturbances which has claimed over 70 lives.
Omehia said the fight against criminal activities in the state would not end if the government did not immediately embark on its plan to clear urban slums. To that effect, he declared that the demolition of slums along the waterfronts would begin between now and December.
The affected slums include Aggrey, Ndoki, Marine Base, Bundu, Nembe, Belle, Bonny waterfronts. Others are Abuja/Prisons, Reclamation, Borokiri, Elechi, Afikpo, Timber, Abonnema Wharf, Okirika, Captain Amagala, Dockyard Creek, Rex Lawson, Enugu, Ojike and Abba waterfronts.
The Amanyanabo of Grand Bonny Kingdom and Chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council, King Edward Asimini Dappa William Pepple said the people were in complete support of the government’s efforts to secure lives and property.
The Eze Gbakagbaka of Evo Kingdom, Frank Eke assured Omehia of the support of the people of the state in the efforts to end cultism and militancy.
The Amanyanabo of Kalabari, King Theophilus Princewill described the imposition of curfew in the state as a welcome development and suggested that whatever action was being taken to restore peace to the state should also be extended to the rural communities.
The Oba of Ogbaland, Chukwumela Nnam Obi II, commended Omehia for his maturity in handling the situation, saying that the governor’s action had rekindled hope in the people of his capacity to lead the state to greater heights.
Ogbaudu yesterday confirmed that George is alive.
The Commissioner of Police disclosed in Port Harcourt that contrary to speculations, George was not killed during a raid last Thursday by the JTF on a hotel the gang leader was presumed to be taking refuge in.
Ogbaudu said there was no evidence presently to ascertain the veracity of the claim that George was killed during the raid. He explained that some persons who know the warlord had confirmed to him that he (George) was still alive.
The Acting Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, had last weekend said a deoxyrabonucleic (DNA) would be conducted on the dead bodies recovered from Iyala Hotel to ascertain if Soboma was among the victims.
Spokesperson for the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Gbomo Jomo, who condemned the attempt on the life of George, at the weekend reaffirmed that he was alive.
Meanwhile, the JTF has intensified its search for suspected perpetrators of the recent disturbances in the state. Sources disclosed to The Guardian that the soldiers in the early hours of yesterday raided Okochiri-Okrika which is the home of the leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante, Ateke Tom.
The JTF raided the hotel where one of the leaders of the groups which signed a peace deal with Ateke was suspected to be residing but narrowly missed him.
The Guardian learnt that the JTF seized a sports utility van (SUV) and other items belonging to the militia leader who has since renounced violence. It was learnt that he was targeted by the JTF, which believed that he would have led them to Ateke’s hideout.
However, the leader of the Niger Delta Solidarity Front, Mr. Abiye Abaku, which is one of the groups that signed the Okirka peace agreement last month, has distanced himself from the recent crisis in the state.
Abaku, who described himself as a freedom fighter, said he renounced all forms of violence during the peace brokered by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2004 between Mujahid Dokubo-Asari and Ateke Tom.
Abaku, who was a former member of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), described as disturbing the allegation by the Commander of the JTF, Brig.-Gen. Samuel Salihu, that the Okrika peace deal was aimed at getting a common front to attack Soboma.