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Police In Rivers State Disrupt Civil Society Rally

The planned rally by the Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NDSC) scheduled to hold in Rivers state yesterday was interrupted by the presence of the … Continue reading Police In Rivers State Disrupt Civil Society Rally


The planned rally by the Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NDSC) scheduled to hold in Rivers state yesterday was interrupted by the presence of the Nigerian police who besieged the Liberation Stadium, Elekahia venue of the rally.

The rally which was supposed to start at 9AM could no longer hold as armoured personnel carriers, surveillance helicopters, police vehicles and senior police officers stormed the venue and dispersed the crowd.

 

Various civil society groups flew in from around the state to defend democracy organised by coalition activists.

The chairman, Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition; Anyakwee Nsirimovu and other members of the coalition who planned the rally seem to be smarter than the police as they immediately changed the venue to another place.

Condemning the action of the police, several members of the coalition group expressed displeasure at the attitude of the police as Anyakwee  Nsirmovu and other members dit as a bad day for democracy.

As several other members of the coalition group condemned the act, the police who had barricaded the first venue of the rally, Isaac Boro Park, as early as 6am said they did so to prevent break down of law and order irrespective of the letter sent to the state police commissioner, Mbu Joseph Mbu, notifying him of the rally.

The police seeing that no activist showed up at the venue was notified of the new venue and immediately sealed off the Liberation Stadium, the new venue, but the activists regrouped at a multipurpose hall where they addressed the press.