Rivers: Hoodlums open fire on pro-Amaechi rally

HOODLUMS suspected to be militants on Sunday invaded the Save Rivers Movement rally in Bori, Khana Local Government Area and unleashed terror on members of the group.

The militants, who wore masks were said to have  shot sporadically mostly at  vehicles parked at the venue of the event by state government officials.

The  Secretary to the State Government, Mr. George Feyii, the Chief of Staff, Government House,  Chief Tony Okocha, and some journalists were among those that  escaped death by a whisker.

Some  however sustained serious bullet injuries during the incident that occurred  barely  a week   after a similar rally was disrupted by operatives of the Rivers State Police Command in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.

Okocha was also lucky during the Obio Akpor rally  but a pro-Rotimi Amaechi senator, Magnus Abe, was not as he was shot with rubber bullets by policemen. Abe  is currently in a London hospital receiving treatment.

It was learnt that during the latest  incident, the  militants, who  besieged the All Saints Anglican Church venue of the  rally, had   begun  shooting  within Bori around 4.30am on Sunday.

They (hoodlums) however  marched to the open field and fired at the parked vehicles at about 10. 40am, forcing the SRM members to flee.

The first group of militants arrived  wielding cutlasses while the second group came in later, wearing masks and shooting intermittently with sophisticated weapons.

However, the absence of security operatives at the  venue made the attackers to have a field  day.

  Channels  Television crew members  that were on the ground to cover the event had the windscreen of their Outside Broadcasting Van smashed.

The SSG’s bullet-riddled   Brilliance saloon car  was  seen being  driven out of the venue of the rally.

 A government official said they had to run into the bush  when they saw a group of masked  militants arriving  the venue.

He said, “Immediately they came close, they started  shooting    at some of our  vehicles. Some of us would have died if we had not taken the decision to run into the bush.”

  Okocha told  journalists that his personal  security aides  and those of the SGS rescued  them.

Channel’s reporter, Grace Ekang, said she was “traumatised by the incident.”

“They (hoodlums) were shooting seriously; they attacked us and the first group that came stole our big camera,” Ekang lamented.

At Bori, policemen mounted roadblocks and barred journalists from gaining entry into the scene of the incident while motorists were forced to take longer routes to their destinations.

Governor  Amaechi, who later inspected some of the  damaged government and Channels Television vehicles, lamented the security situation in the state and described President Goodluck Jonathan’s government as being  worse than Sani  Abacha’s.

Amaechi said   that democracy was in danger  in the country with the insecurity in the state  and added that the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu, had  declared war on his administration and the people of the state.

He accused Mbu of being part of the   attack on SRM supporters,   maintaining that the Federal Government was desperate to win the 2015 elections.

PUNCH NG