Rivers: HURIWA kicks against alleged Police invasion of RSIEC office

A prominent pro-democracy advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Friday applauded Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State for thwarting an attempt by the Nigerian Police, led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), to take over the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) at 1 a.m. on Friday, October 4th, 2024.

In a statement made available to Saturday Tribune, HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, strongly condemned the incident.

HURIWA, citing media reports, stated that the policemen attempted to scale the gates and break into the strong room of the Commission to seize sensitive electoral materials intended for Saturday’s local government election in the State.

However, the plot was foiled when vigilant security personnel alerted senior officials of the Commission and relevant government authorities, who immediately informed the Governor.

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Governor Fubara, in response, swiftly led a team of government officials, lawmakers from both the National Assembly and the State House of Assembly, top political stakeholders, and other leaders to the facility.

Reacting to the incident, HURIWA condemned the nighttime invasion of the Rivers State Electoral Commission in Port Harcourt, comparing it to an illegal operation. The rights group demanded the immediate arrest of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), who coordinated the attempted takeover of a democratic institution in Rivers State.

“We view this brazen attack on the core of democracy in Rivers State by the partisan Nigeria Police as an attempted coup, which must not be swept under the rug of impunity. We continue to warn the Nigeria Police to stay out of politics and operate in accordance with the constitutional provisions that established the policing institution to enforce law and order—not to be used in political power struggles to advance the ambitions of certain individuals affiliated with the All Progressives Congress, the party in power at the federal level.

“The Nigeria Police Force continues to give Nigerians reasons to doubt the existence of a credible or professional policing institution. If the Nigerian police now behave like the armed wing of the All Progressives Congress and interfere in controversies surrounding the Rivers State local government elections, the people of Nigeria will be forced to assume that a truly professional police force no longer exists.

“These vexatious, unconstitutional acts of harassment against the Rivers State Governor, and the reckless efforts by the police to take over democratic institutions, are dragging us back to the days of military dictatorship. These illegal acts of treachery by the police are attracting global condemnation and tarnishing Nigeria’s image in the international community.”