As always, the early hours of the day witnessed mere insignificant issues dominated by delay of arrival of electoral materials and malfunctioning card readers. These issues were, in most cases, promptly resolved and the process went on smoothly across many local government areas until the afternoon when voting was concluded and it was time for collation of results.
As was relayed by Samuel Nwanosike, chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area, all through the local government, there was no incident until the period of collation during which hoodlums, allegedly under the influence of Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, destroyed some polling units at Ubima, carting away ballot boxes and result sheets.
Nwanosike told journalists who had gone to him to confirm the report of violence in his local government that the trend had been on since 2015 general election and through the several reruns that followed, lamenting that the situation was repeating itself once again.
The Ikwerre local government area violence was later dwarfed by reports of widespread violence experienced at Akuku-Toru, Asari-Toru, Degema, Bonny, Ahoada West, Andoni, Emouha and Okrika local government areas, many of them resulting in unnecessary loss of lives.
For example, at Asarama, Andoni Local Government Area, it was reported and later confirmed by Nnamdi Omoni, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Rivers State command, that a former local government chairman, Mowan Etete, his elder brother and a cousin were assassinated that morning by unknown gunmen (Their remains are yet to be found until now).
The incidents in Bonny and Akuku-Toru were particularly fierce, so much so that elections did not hold in the two local government areas with the Rivers INEC, now in a dilemma, over how to conduct the National Assembly elections there to produce members of the House of Representatives from the two local government areas.
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Other casualties of the bloody Election Day included a Nigerian army lieutenant, an INEC ad-hoc staff, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), other unidentified innocent persons as well as some of the alleged hoodlums.
Who did it?
The Nigerian Army, 6 Division, Port Harcourt, was the first to give an indication to what actually happened at Abonnema when, on the evening of February 23, after an alleged amateur video of the shootout had gone viral on the social media.
A statement by the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sagir Musa, explained that the shootout was between hoodlums and troops of the Division who he said came under an ambush attack by the hoodlums.
The Army said in the statement: “Information reaching headquarters of the Nigerian Army revealed that troops of 6 Division, on a legitimate duty of protecting lives and property of law abiding citizens and ensuring a conducive environment for peaceful conduct of 2019 General Elections in Abonnema, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area, were attacked by some hoodlums.
“The pre-planned attack occurred in between Charles and Bob-Manuel’s compounds in Abonnema town at about 1:00 p.m. on February 23.
“The attackers barricaded a major road into the town and laid an ambush in the adjoining areas from where they opened fire on our unsuspecting troops when they attempted to remove the barricade.
“The gallant troops fought their way through the siege and in the process killed six of the assailants. However, we lost a lieutenant in the encounter.
“Preliminary investigation indicated that one Roland Sekibo, chairman, Akuku-Toru Local Government; Omodo, the CSO Akuku-Toru Local Government; and Kenneth of Kula, currently at large, were the masterminds of the unexpected/unprovoked attack.
“To this end, the Nigerian Army hereby state that perpetrators of this ambush will be made to face the full wrath of the law.”
This statement was immediately followed by a reported siege by the Army on Abonnema community during which no one was allowed in or out of the community, as troops of the 6 Division were said to have conducted a house-to-house search and arrest of many youths.
The blame game ensues
As has always been the case in political problems in the state, since 2013 when the Nyesom Wike/Chibuike Amaechi battle began, the blame game over the violence has continued.
Rivers State government reacted immediately, declaring that it would pursue justice for all those “murdered in cold blood by soldiers of the Nigerian Army recruited by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to unleash mayhem on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in Abonnema and other towns during presidential and National Assembly elections.”
Addressing journalists at the Government House, Port Harcourt, Wike said all those involved in the “murder of innocent Rivers people to feather the presidential ambition of their benefactor would not go unpunished.”
He particularly berated Amaechi; the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major-General Jamil Sarham; and the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) leader, Akin Fakorede, for their alleged roles in the murders during the elections.
“Let it be known that those who masterminded the murderous assault on Abonnema and other communities in Rivers State last Saturday have bloodstains on their hands, for which they are all answerable before the Almighty God.
«I wish to assure all and sundry that we shall, as a government, pursue justice for the families of the victims against the perpetrators of the mayhem, killings and destructions in Abonema, Buguma, Degema and other places, no matter how powerful they may seem and how long it may take.”
The governor called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately direct the Army to pull out of Abonnema so that the people could resume their normal lives.
Besides Amaechi, Wike also blamed other bigwigs of the APC, demanding to know whether the APC leaders “of Kalabari, especially Mr. Tonye Cole, Prince Tonye Princewill and Professor Charles Dokubo, are pleased with the killings and destruction in Abonnema and other parts of kalabari by the Army?
“Can they, in all conscience, defend and or be happy to be the among the principal actors with the transport minister to inflict such horrendous levels of killing and devastation to their own people and communities, just to prove how connected they are to the Federal Government and the nation’s military?” he queried.
The APC responded through Cole, state coordinator of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and governorship candidate of the party, saying its legal team was investigating Wike’s allegations which he described as malicious and might be advised on possible libel suit against those peddling the allegations.
He expressed shock at comments attributed to Wike “that Professor Charles Dokubo-Quakers, Prince Tonye Princewill and I are responsible for the carnage and deaths in Abonnema last weekend (February 23).
“Over the past few days, Rivers State has, once again, been in the headlines globally for all the wrong reasons. In a nationwide election that sought to elect a president for the Federal Republic of Nigeria and members of the National Assembly, our dear state was characterised with armed conflict which unfortunately led to the death of innocent Nigerians that had simply sought to exercise their civic duty of participating in an electoral process.
“In Akuku-Toru, in particular, Honourable Rowland Sekibo, currently at large, is the chairman and under his watch, Abonnema was brazenly under the control of several deadly cult groups. As in several areas across the state and operating under the cover of the local government authority, militarised cult groups have held Akuku-Toru hostage over the past few years and in the run-up to this election, intelligence reaching us was that strict directives had been issued to the chairman not to permit APC to deliver the local government of its gubernatorial candidate and, in particular, his polling unit and Ward 12.”
Later, the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army paraded a member of the State House of Assembly, Opokri Wanaka, and the state Commissioner for Urban Development, Dr Reason Williams, for suspected electoral fraud.
Also arrested and paraded were DSP Oyoku Ifelle (Camp Commander, Rivers State Government House); Sgt Akanu Garba, Inspector Hycent Oboi and Sgt Nketan Chucks, all reported Government House security details and an Army Majar, A P Ubah, for allegedly trying to bribe military guards at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Port Harcourt branch where electoral materials were kept for distribution ahead of the elections.
The Army also alleged that it had proof that the Rivers State governor tried to bribe an Army officer over Saturday’s presidential election. The said proof, according to the Army, included a recorded phone conversation Wike allegedly had with an Army officer, following arrest of Wanaka and Dr William.
However, all key suspects denied any wrong doing, describing the development as a drama being orchestrated by the Army to smear the person of Governor Wike over his lack of confidence in the conduct of security operatives in Rivers.
The lawmaker said, “We did no wrong. I was at Ahoada West, my constituency, when I was arrested. If something happens to my constituent, I reserve the right to find out. We did no wrong. Our arrest and those of many other persons is sheer drama to blackmail Governor Wike.”
In his own response, the Commandant of the Rivers State Government House said; “how can they be parade official guns allocated to us as exhibits? We are not suspects. This is just blackmail. In my line of duty, I attend to welfare of security personnel drafted to work in the Government House; nothing is criminal in money found with me. I didn’t bribe anybody.”
Implications for elections
Tongues have been wagging since, with many groups and individuals taking sides, blaming a person, group or agency for some wrongdoing in connection with the events of penultimate Saturday.
It is also feared that the same scenario, if not worse, would attend the March 9 outing. According to Chris Amuzie, a resident of Port Harcourt, the violence witnessed during the presidential election would be dwarfed by the carnage that would follow the March 9 elections, except something was done urgently.
He explained that if the presidential and National Assembly elections which had less interested individual parties running for offices could be that bloody, then, the governorship and Assembly elections would be bloodier, “because more parties and individuals will want to protect their interests.
“Each contestant will do everything in their power to protect their interest and to outsmart others. And with violence now holding sway, other than the spirit of sportsmanship, anything is possible.”
He added that the APC and its candidates, having been excluded from the elections by the courts, might, in seeking vengeance, decide to play the spoiler, stressing that “that in itself is a loose canon that may have dire consequences on the peace and security of the elections of March 9.”