The Rivers State Police Command on Sunday stepped up security in the state capital to prevent the breakdown of law and order.
The security alert followed last Saturday�s destruction of three police stations and the killing of seven policemen by suspected militants just before the commencement of the governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state.
The command in a bid to forestall further breakdown of law and order, deployed its anti-riot men in strategic areas in the capital, just as residents began to leave for their churches.
The riot policemen, who were armed with sophisticated weapons and numbering about 200, were led by an Armoured Personnel Carrier.
The officers and men chanted some war songs as they marched through the city.
They also fired canisters of teargas when they came close to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, which is opposite the head office of the Niger Delta Development Commission.
But the release of the chemical into the air, caused a stampede on the Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway and forced some motorists who were close to the INEC office to retreat.
Some commuters, who were affected by the teargas, disembarked from some of the vehicles and ran to avoid suffocation.
The Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Ireju Barasua, confirmed that the development was to drum the message to criminals that the police in the state were equal to the security challenges in the state.
Barasua, a deputy superintendent of police, said the action was taken in reaction to the attacks on Saturday.
She added that the police would intensify their patrol in the state to prevent criminals from taking laws into their hands.
Asked when the operation would end, the PPRO said she did not know, saying that the command was ready to provide adequate security for lives and property in the state.