One dead, several wounded as thugs attack APC registration centres in Rivers

The All Progressives Congress has condemned the attacks aimed at disrupting the party’s ongoing membership registration in Rivers State.
It said the attacks represent a shot to the heart of democracy and a breach of the country’s constitution.
The party in a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said: “People’s participation is at the core of democracy, while the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees the right of citizens to associate with any party of their choice. These deadly attacks hinder people’s participation in democracy and violate the fundamental rights of the affected citizens.”
The party said the attacks, undoubtedly masterminded by the Nyesome Wike-sponsored Grassroots Development Initiative and the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State, is aimed at covering up the glaring rejection of the PDP by the people of the state.
The statement added: “We have no doubt that these attacks, during which at least one person has been shot dead, would not have been possible without the collusion of the police. Therefore, we appeal to the incoming Commissioner of Police in Rivers to stop the Mbu-era misuse of the police as the enforcement arm of the PDP in the state.”
The party wondered why the deadly attacks, aimed at disrupting its ongoing membership registration, would occur only in Rivers State, even as the exercise is going on simultaneously in all the 36 states as well as the Federal Capital Territory.
It added: “Some partisan analysts and uninformed critics have challenged our directive to our lawmakers in the National Assembly not to cooperate with the Executive until peace returns to Rivers. But are they not surprised that it is only in one state – Rivers – that our membership registration has been disrupted? Is Rivers the only state where we have PDP members?
“Again, we ask President Goodluck Jonathan to rein in his supporters in Rivers and stop them from setting the state and the country on fire. We urge him to remind his supporters in Rivers, led by his overzealous Minister, Wike, that his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.”
Detailing some of the attacks by armed and sponsored hoodlums in Rivers State, the APC said the worst was in Degema, where one Andy was shot dead while six APC supporters suffered bullet wounds; and the party’s Supervisory Committee Chairman for Degema for the registration – former Chairman, Rivers State Civil Service Commission, Mr. Ben Orugbani – escaped death when his house was shattered with bullets in the old Bakana.
There were also attacks in Phalga Wards 11, 14 and 16, where one Vandam and Noso led 50 other hoodlums to shoot sporadically and hijack the registration materials, handsets and cameras; Ward 9 in Obio/Akpor the ward of Wike, where hoodlums were hired to beat up registration officers and hijack registration materials; and Ward 6 in Woji the area, where Chief Timothy Nsirm, the Terror Executor in charge, led 30 hoodlums who manhandled our supporters and shot one of them, Chibuchi Ogbonda, who is now battling with his life in hospital.
The statement by Mohammed added: “The question to ask these hoodlums and their sponsors, including the GDI and the PDP, is why are they worried about people who want to register as APC members if they are indeed convinced that the party (APC) is not on ground as they have claimed? Where in the world are people prevented from joining the party of their choice by hoodlums? What is democracy without the people having the right to associate with any party of their choice?
“The arrowheads of the GDI and the PDP should be ashamed of themselves for using force to undermine democracy in Rivers, and we call on their masters to immediately put them on a leash and allow peace to reign in Rivers.”
The Rivers State chapter of the APC also issued a statement on the development.
The statement, signed by Eze Chukuwemeka Eze, reads in full: “Yesterday we alerted the public about intelligence reports at our disposal indicating that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State and the Grassroot Development Initiative (GDI), the political machinery of PDP chieftain/Supervising Minister for Education, Barrister Nyesom Wike, had concluded plans to disrupt our membership registration exercise, which started yesterday, and to cause physical harm to our party members.
“Unfortunately, our appeals for GDI and PDP Rivers to have a rethink and give peace a chance have fallen on deaf ears as they have gone ahead to declare total war on the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State in their desperation to sabotage the on-going membership registration exercise in the state. We wish to cite the following cases:
“In PHALGA Wards 11, 14 and 16 one Vandam and one Noso led 50 other hoodlums to shoot sporadically and hijack the registration materials, handsets and cameras of APC registration officials.
“In Ward 9 in Obio/Akpor, the ward of Chief Nyesom Wike, the Supervising Minister of Education, hired thugs disrupted the registration exercise, beat up APC Registration Officers and hijacked registration materials.
“In Ward 6 in Woji, the area where Chief Timothy Nsirm is the Chief Executor of the war against APC, one Eric Nyekazi Chioma led the operation with 30 other thugs, shooting and chasing out our people and shooting one of our key supporters, Chibuchi Ogbonda, who is now battling for life at DATTA Clinic, Port Harcourt. Woji Ward comprises five big communities of Woji, Rumurolu, Rumuibekwe, Oginigba and Rumuogba.
“The same scenario played itself out in Ogubolo and several other parts of the state but worst hit is Degema, where one Andy was shot dead while six other APC members were inflicted with bullet wounds and are currently hospitalized at BMH in Port Harcourt.
“Yesterday our Degema LGA Supervisory Committee Chairman for the Registration Exercise and former Chairman Rivers State Civil Service Commission, Mr. Ben Orugbani, escaped death when his house was shattered with bullets in the old Bakana.
“In addition, we have it on good authority that some of our top leaders, among them the Interim State Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, and Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Tony Okocha among others, have been slated for elimination.
“We wish to once more warn Barrister Wike and PDP leaders in Rivers State to stop this madness henceforth as the consequences could be grave. We also hereby cry out to the new State Commissioner of Police, CP Johnson Ogunsakin, to step in and decisively bring an end to this madness. While we understand PDP’s frustration at being roundly rejected by the people of Rivers State, this is surely not an excuse to plunge the state into chaos and rob the people of their constitutionally-guaranteed right to freedom of political association.”