The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) and over 40 affiliated groups have issued a warning of a statewide protest if Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun does not withdraw his officers from the 23 local government councils in Rivers State.
This situation arose after the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, acting on the IGP’s orders, deployed officers to all the LG councils following the crisis triggered by the end of the outgoing chairmen’s tenure on Tuesday.
As a result, the newly appointed caretaker chairmen of the 23 councils are forced to conduct their administrative duties from homes, hotels, and other convenient locations.
Addressing the ongoing blockade of the secretariats, the South-South zonal chairman of the CLO, Comrade Enefaa Georgewill, urged the police to stop transforming Rivers into a police state.
He described the continuous blockade of the council gates as “insulting and demeaning to the people of the state.”
The CLO chairman announced that the human rights organisation has given the police a seven-day ultimatum to vacate the secretariats, threatening a statewide anti-police protest in Rivers State if the demand is not met.
“We give the Nigerian Police a 7-day ultimatum which expires next Friday, June 28, 2024, to withdraw its men from the 23 secretariats across the local government areas of the state.
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We are currently consulting with all our affiliates and allowing the police command a grace period to act appropriately.
“We have a Governor who has resolved the crisis from the local government tenure issue by appointing a new caretaker committee to handle the councils’ administrative tasks pending the LG elections.
“A competent court has ruled that the Martins Amaewhule Assembly had no authority to extend the tenure of the former council chairmen.
The police should comply with the existing judgment and remain neutral in this matter pending the final ruling by the Appeal Court,” he stated.