Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, has slammed the Nigeria Police over the alleged brutal clampdown on peaceful protesters in Ahoada East Local Government Area, as political tensions continue to escalate across the oil-rich South-South state.
This comes in the wake of twin protests by two groups of women in different parts of the state, both reacting to the recent declaration of a state of emergency by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. While one group staged a pro-emergency rally in Port Harcourt, the other, in Ahoada East, took to the streets to demand Fubara’s reinstatement.
The Port Harcourt demonstration, led by members of the ‘Rivers Women for Peace and Good Governance’ group, proceeded peacefully. The women, mostly clad in white, voiced support for the emergency rule, describing it as constitutional. Their rally was held under tight but non-confrontational security.
In stark contrast, the anti-emergency protest in Ahoada East turned rowdy after police officers reportedly fired teargas to disperse around 200 demonstrators. The protesters, from Elleye and Engine communities, carried placards and chanted slogans condemning the appointment of a sole administrator in place of the suspended governor.
Eyewitnesses said the women refused to back down, prompting the use of force by security personnel. Video footage that surfaced online captured tearful scenes as elderly women were seen weeping and struggling to breathe after inhaling the gas. One woman, stripped to the waist, was aided by others as she stumbled away from the scene.
Despite the heavy-handed response, the women remained defiant, insisting on their demands.
“We are here to tell President Bola Tinubu that since he declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, it has not been easy. We, the women, are hungry; we are suffering and dying,” one protester said.
“Sim is our hope. We say bring back our Governor. We love him. We say no to emergency rule in Rivers State. We voted for Sim, not sole administrator. We don’t want a caretaker.
Let the FCT Minister remain in Abuja and leave Sim alone.”
As tensions rose, the women broke into chants of “We want Fubara, we want Fubara,” with several kneeling in the street, pleading for peace in the state.
In response to the incidents, Fubara’s Special Adviser on Electronic Media, Jerry Omatsogunwa, criticized the police for what he described as biased enforcement of law and order.
“First and foremost, I want to thank the women in Ahoada for standing and fighting for democracy. And it is like the police have two standards for the same activity right now,” Omatsogunwa said.
“You can see old women who came out in Ahoada to exercise their right to protest when they see that things are not going well, the police teargassed them. The police teargassed them to the extent that one of them, an old woman, fainted.”
“While the ones in Port Harcourt here that said they support illegality and said they support the King Solomon son-division situation that said let us kill the child so that we can prove the owner, they were guarded, protected and directed by the police.”
“So I tell you, those women who protested in Port Harcourt, I think they don’t mean well for the state, and the ones that protested in Ahoada, I say kudos. They are the heroes of democracy.”
Omatsogunwa further accused key players in the current administration of harbouring political ambitions and misusing their positions.
“I think the whole world should keep an eye on the state Commissioner of Police and the sole administrator.
“When the sole administrator came here, he said there was no problem in the state. Maybe he has another agenda because we learnt he is nursing a governorship ambition in his own Cross River State, so he needs to also gather some money just to justify it.”
The crisis in Rivers State deepened following President Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency, which led to the suspension of Governor Fubara, his deputy, Mrs. Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The President subsequently appointed Ibas as the sole administrator to oversee the state for an initial six-month period.
