Rivers State Ministry of Urban Development and physical planning has reacted to the invasion of the ministry’s garage along Moscow road by Army officers.
Dr Reason Onya who disclosed this to our reporter, Tina Amanda said officers shot sporadically in the air and made away with an SUV that was confiscated by the ministry’s compliance team.
According to him, their action is unwarranted and unconstitutional, stressing that the ministry has maintained a good relationship with the military.
He stressed that the car was impounded for being used for illegal trading along Afam street D/line Port Harcourt.
“An Army captain accompanied by four other ranked officers came into the urban office shouting were is the bagger that tolled the SUV Mercedes belonging to a retired ex-general, that the GOC has commanded them to bring the bagger and the black SUV Mercedes to the barrack.
“My compliance team approach them to know whom they are and for them to take things calmly, they open fire, shooting sporadically and tolled the SUV away.
‘’The most interesting part of the story is that the army vehicle they came with has no plate number, the men that led the operation have no berret, no name tag, no lanyard, but the gun they were shooting with bears Nigeria Army with the initials (NA) at the head.
“It is disheartening and this behavioural attitude that is an embodiment of unconstitutionalism will not be tolerated by the Rivers state government.
“We are going to write to the GOC, Army Chief of staff, to the NIA, to the Directorate of military intelligence. The ministry has in the past impounded vehicles belonging to army wives and there were civility and understanding between them and the ministry, they usually come to ask for the commissioner or whoever was in charge and in few of these cases they pay the charges”
He called on the Nigerian Army to fish out the officers who carried the disheartening operation against the ministry.
“We are sending a letter to the GOC to fish out these unscrupulous elements that are denting the image of the Nigeria army particularly his brigade. Elements like this need to be identified and flushed out from the Nigeria army so that the good work and relationship Rivers state government is keeping with the military will continue, we won’t let it lie low, we will follow it up till they are fished out”
All efforts to reach the Army Public relations Officer proved abortive.
