The Rivers State House of Assembly has condemned the role of some Police operatives in Thursday’s protests by supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital.
After a two-hour debate on the matter, the 19-member house passed a resolution, calling on the Inspector General of Police to immediately transfer the two officers that supervised the protests out of the state.
The Speaker of the House, Adams Dabotoridima, addressed journalists on the need for the action to be taken urgently.
Thursday was a day of protests in Port Harcourt as supporters of the APC and the PDP stormed the streets to express their grievances over different matters.
The APC members stormed the streets to show their grievances over two of their elected members in the state House of Assembly who are yet to be sworn in while supporters of the PDP claim they were out to register their support for the leadership of the House and the government of Rivers State.
The APC members who came out in their numbers caused a traffic jam along Azikiwe road in the Rivers state capital.
The leader of the protest and secretary of the party in the state Emeka Bekee lamented what he described as a deliberate attempt of the government to frustrate the process.
While the APC protest was going on, the situation with supporters of the PDP appeared tenser.
In an open confrontation, the Police engaged the protesters in an attempt to stop them from proceeding.
This led to the use of tear gas and live ammunition. One person was shot in the leg.
Channels Television’s cameraman, Ekikere Udom, was also attacked during the chaos. He was reportedly hit with a gun by the Police.
From his hospital bed, he recounted how he was brutalized by the Police.
“I was doing my work when a group of policemen came around me and asked me to stop recording and started beating me up. I tried to show them my ID card, but they continued.
“After the beating, while I was trying to recover myself, another officer came and hit me on my rib with the tip of the gun and I fell. They hit my camera and seized it and my bag. I had to manage my way out of there,” he said.
