TheCable

Abiye Sekibo, director-general of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign council in Rivers, has been attacked by gunmen.

Sekibo alleged that police officers opened fire on his vehicle on Thursday in the Rainbow axis of Port Harcourt, but the state police command said the attack was carried out by suspected thugs.

Speaking at a media briefing on Friday, Sekibo said he received a call on Thursday night that the venue for the campaign rally of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP, was on fire.

“At about 11:30pm, I received a call and the caller said the equipment that is at the site being prepared for the PDP presidential rally is on fire. I said let me go and see for myself. I asked my driver to bring out the car and three policemen to let’s go and see what is happening there,” he said.

“As we approached the site, we saw a lineup of police Hilux vehicles on the right side of the road and the policemen were looking at the fire.

“As we approached them, I was about to tell my police to stop so that I can talk to the policemen (watching the fire). The next thing, these policemen watching the fire opened fire on my vehicle. They started shooting at my vehicle. I told the driver to keep moving. So we drove off.

“I realise and looked at these vehicles that they were police Hilux vehicles attached to the governor of Rivers state. They shot one of our tyres. As we were going, the driver had difficulty driving. We got to the Oando filling station and we cleared at the filling station.

“Then these police Hilux vehicles — five in number — drove passed us. This is what our state has been reduced to.”

Sekibo asked Usman Baba, inspector-general of police (IGP), to caution the officers attached to the Rivers government house against being “used” by the state.

“He (Nyesom Wike) sent policemen attached to him to go and destroy the equipment that is clearing the place. And as I speak to you now, he has barricaded the place with government house police to make sure that pressmen don’t get to the site,” he said.

“He doesn’t want the press to go and see and video the equipment that is on fire. He has used government house police, not the regular police. Police attached to Rivers state governor are the ones that have barricaded the place.”

‘ATTACKERS ARE SUSPECTED THUGS’

Grace Iringe-Koko, police spokesperson in Rivers, said the police were not involved in the attack — as alleged by Sekibo.

“There was a distress call to the control room at about 2am on Friday, 10th February 2023, that Dr Abiye Sekibo was attacked by suspected thugs along Intel in the Rainbow axis of Port-Harcourt,” she said in a message to TheCable.

“On the basis of the call, six patrol teams were immediately mobilised to the scene. By the time the teams arrived, the suspected thugs had fled.

“Nonetheless, the teams remained to forestall further destruction. Meanwhile, normalcy has returned and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police has ordered an investigation into the incident.”

The development comes weeks after an attack on the residence of Lee Maeba, chairperson of the Atiku campaign team in the state.