The Rivers State Police Command has cautioned against the planned protest scheduled for Monday, June 24 by the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE).
Persecondnews recalls that NULGE’s planned protest was a response to the police barricading of the 23 local government councils in the state.
Police spokesperson Grace Iringe-Koko said in a statement on Sunday night that the police are aware of the impending protest.
While acknowledging the public’s right to assemble, the police strongly advise against the protest to prevent potential hijacking by hoodlums.
The statement reads in part: “The Rivers State Police Command has become aware of the planned protest by the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), scheduled for June 24, 2024.
“While the Command recognizes and respects the right to lawful assembly, it has credible intelligence that this protest will be infiltrated and hijacked by hoodlums seeking to cause disruption and mayhem within the state.
“Consequently, the Command strongly advises the organisers to suspend the planned protest to prevent a possible breakdown of law and order.
“The police will take all necessary lawful measures to protect the lives and properties of every resident in Rivers State. The Command has vowed to apprehend and prosecute any person or group that attempts to disrupt the peace.”
Rivers Police Commissioner Olatunji Disu has deployed police personnel to the secretariats of all 23 local government areas to ensure public safety and security.
“These officers will remain in their respective locations until the threat of disruption of peace is deemed to have ceased,” the statement added.
Disu assured the state residents that the police command has put in place robust security arrangements to protect lives and property, maintain smooth traffic flow, and create a peaceful atmosphere conducive to all lawful activities.
He advised law-abiding citizens to continue with their daily activities without fear, as they have strategically implemented stringent security measures to ensure their protection and well-being.
Meanwhile, the Caretaker Committee Chairmen for the 23 local government areas in Rivers State have thrown their weight behind the police’s ongoing blockade of the council secretariats.
Ezebunwo Ichemati, Chairman of ALGON and Administrator of Port Harcourt LGA, cautioned against holding a protest at the council headquarters on Monday.
He alleged that the protest is a deliberate and malicious attempt to create chaos and anarchy, aimed at justifying the declaration of a state of emergency in the state.
He said: “The planned protest is not in the interest of the local governments or the state in its entirety. Rather, it is a calculated attempt by enemies of our dear state to paint the people of the state in bad light, unleash mayhem while at it, and use it to further buttress their inordinate call for the declaration of a state of emergency in our dear state.”
“We emphatically state that we, members of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Rivers State Chapter, and our people are in support of the police decision to take control and protect all local government council secretariats until further directive on the matter.”
According to Ezebunwo, since the caretaker committee chairmen took office, there have been no attempts to forcibly occupy or access any local government secretariats, consistent with Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s instructions, until the police removed the barriers protecting government property.
He said: “We want to categorically state that we are not in any way linked to the planned protest as it is inimical to the progress and well-being of the people of the state, considering the sinister plots by some desperate politicians to take advantage under the guise of protest, to cause chaos and destabilise governance in the state.”
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