Soldiers restricting movements in Rivers Communities

Okenyi Kenechi

Few hours to the 2019 presidential and national assembly elections, personnel of the Nigerian Army from the 6 division Port Harcourt is reportedly restricting movements in communities in Rivers State.

This is despite the fact that the restriction of movement officially starts by 12 am on Saturday.

Theportcitynews gathered from local sources that restrictions of movements are currently ongoing in Abua/Odual, Omoku and Ahoada local governments with several persons suspected to be members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, arrested.

At Bori and Bodo both in Khana and Gokana Local Government Areas, soldiers and policemen belonging to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, have reportedly mounted roadblocks in the areas.

This also comes as locals claim they are being harassed by security agents stationed in the area.

Although president Muhammadu Buhari promised that soldiers will not interfere with the elections, the reverse seems to be the case as soldiers were spotted at the Central Bank Of Nigeria complex in Port Harcourt before the rescheduled election in a quest to inspect electoral materials; a situation that irked the state government leading to accusations between the government and the military with the state government through the commissioner of information and communication, Emma Okah, accusing the military of partisanship.

But the military reacted through its PRO, Col Aminu Iliyasu saying that it is the: “Constitutional responsibility of aiding civil authority and our mandate to safeguarding key points and vulnerable points of our dear nation, troops of 6 Division were accordingly deployed and further reinforced at various locations, including the CBN, Port Harcourt, where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) usually deposits sensitive materials before, during and after elections.

It further explained that: “Brig.-Gen. Najaja, as the Coordinator of all deployments, was at the CBN, Port Harcourt and other locations to assess the level of troops’ deployment and alertness. This deployment must have thwarted Mr Okah’s sinister plans and that of his paymasters, thereby making such frustrating statements”

There have series of public spats between the state government and the general officer commanding, GOC, of the 6 division since the blockade at the CBN with the government claiming that GOC is under instruction to arrest and intimidate leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Although the All Progressives Congress, APC, is not on the ballot following the ruling of the Supreme Court which sealed the party’s fate in the state, the state government continuously accused the military of working with the minister of transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, to instigate violence in some areas so as to scuttle the presidential and national assembly elections.

Also, the Rivers governor, Nyesom Wike, on Friday, claimed that the GOC of 6 division sent soldiers to assassinate him on Thursday night, a claim the military has not reacted to.

Although the governor’s claims of planned assassination have not been substantiated, theportcitynews gathered that there has been increased deployment of troops to strategic areas in the state with soldiers providing security for top leaders of the All Progressives Congress.

Our attempt to get the PRO of the 6 div, Col Aminu Iliyasu to react to the claims was unsuccessful as he did not respond to our text messages.