A MEMBER of the Rivers State House of Assembly and four suspected kingpins of rival cult groups involved in the violence in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, have been arrested by security operatives.
The lawmaker’s (name withheld) arrest, according to a security source, is in connection with last Saturday’s wanton destruction of private and public property in some parts of Port Harcourt. Over 20 persons were feared killed in the incident.
A security operative said they found some election posters of the lawmaker in one of the vehicles recovered from a rival group in Saturday’s attack. Other items found in the car included bullets and one AK 47 rifle.
The lawmaker had arrived at the House of Assembly complex along Moscow Road for yesterday’s sitting. Shortly afterwards, he was invited for interrogation by the operatives of the State Security Services (SSS) who later detained him.
The source hinted that “we have the lawmaker who is being quizzed in relation to Saturday’s incident. There are also four major cult group leaders in our custody. We are continuing the raid on suspected hideouts of these cult members. We are resolved to flush them out of the state.”
Yesterday, the Joint Task Force (JTF) raided parts of Marine Base and Abuja Estate along Creek Road in the city. The raid was part of the manhunt and clampdown on suspected cult members.
The JTF mounted road blocks in parts of Marine Base and embarked on a house-to-house search for suspected cult members.
It was learnt that some arrests were made during the raid that lasted for several hours.
The JTF also invaded the Abuja Estate, where eyewitnesses said the search for the cult was concentrated around the waterfront area. Some persons were said to have been arrested in the area.
And in the Diobu area, the task force mounted roadblocks at bus stops on Emenike and Okija streets along Ikwerre Road, which has been one of the major flashpoints in the city. Commuters and motorists who passed through the road were subjected to thorough searching by the security agents.
In a reaction to the manhunt for the militias, former Speaker of the state legislature, Rotimi Amaechi, expressed dismay that Rivers had been reduced to a lawless, panic-stricken and violence state as a result of disturbances which had taken their toll on the residents and property.
Amaechi said he was joining well-meaning Nigerians to condemn “the perpetrators of these shameful acts which betray the very essence of our country’s democracy.”
He said: “Nothing can be more callous and reprehensible than the circumstances that have led to all these, and no decent and law-abiding society can allow those who carried out this vicious act to go unpunished.”
The former lawmaker, who commiserated with the families of those who lost their loved ones during the violence, urged the people to be vigilant and to shun all acts capable of leading to further loss of lives and property.
A group styled K12 has urged the two rival militia groups engaged in the orgy of violence in the state capital to take advantage of the rehabilitation and repositioning programmes of Governor Celestine Omehia’s administration to fully reintegrate into the society and refuse to be used by warped minds.
The K12 chairman in Port Harcourt, George Ariolu, who expressed concern about the unprovoked disturbances caused by some misguided youths, described as heartrending the prevailing situation in the state.
The Federal Government yesterday described as unfortunate and unacceptable the lingering crisis in the Niger Delta, warning that it would not fold its arms and watch criminals take over the region.
Information and Communications Minister, Mr. John Ogar Odey who stated this during an interactive session with journalists yesterday in Abuja, condemned the burning of the Rivers State Radio2 Station and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) mega-station at the weekend in Port Harcourt. He said the situation in Port Harcourt is under control.
Odey noted that the Federal Government is highly concerned with the high rate of criminal activities in the Niger Delta, adding that the government will not allow the citizens of the region to suffer in the hands of few elements.
According to him, government has a holistic plan to the security problem in the region and has decided to tackle it through the provision of development infrastructure.
Odey stated that the issue of Nigeria being one of the topmost or of the 20 most developed nations in the world come 2020 is the cardinal point of this administration, stressing that it is the government’s desire to take the nation’s development beyond the level where it is today.
The minister said that in achieving this, critical areas which government has overlooked in the past but which hinder the nation’s development would be addressed.
According to Odey: “It is in line with some of this policy thrust that the President initiated the seven-point agenda. I know that energy and power are critical factors in our economic life and because without power and energy, obviously, most of our industries, even the processing of agro-allied industry, will not work.”
“Our concern is to ensure that we get it right in the power and energy sector to ensure we have effective productive life.”
He promised to meet with the Minister of Science and
Technology in order to advise government to have an informed decision.