Rivers crisis: We won’t engage in media tussle with Fubara, say police

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) says it is not ready to engage in a media tussle with Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers, over the political crisis in the state.

On Friday, police operatives barricaded the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) in Port Harcourt, the state capital, ahead of the conduct of the LGA polls on October 5.

The NPF also said its officers would not provide security for the polls.

Fubara, who had stormed the facility, said the presence of police officers at the RISEC premises was unnecessary.

The governor accused Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector-general of police (IGP), of taking orders from Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), to truncate the LGA elections in the state.

Fubara said the RSIEC facility was his property while daring the IGP to shoot him.

Reacting, the police faulted the allegations by the governor and said they were only conforming with a court order barring the force from participating in the LGA elections.

In a statement on Monday, Muyiwa Adejobi, the police spokesperson, debunked the “prevailing falsehood of partisanship circulating in the media”.

Adejobi also reaffirmed the police’s “neutrality and non-interference in political affairs” within the state and the country.

He noted that the “misinformation triggered by the unwarranted outburst of Fubara was totally uncalled for and unfair to the law enforcement institutions in Nigeria”.

“For the avoidance of doubts, the general public is free to profile the career journey of the Inspector-General of Police and his track record in every place he has served, which undoubtedly show him as a man of honor, integrity, and focus before and after his assumption of office as the 22nd Indigenous Inspector General of Police of Nigeria,” the statement reads.

“The IGP is very well respected in the Association of Chiefs of Police Worldwide, particularly in Africa, where he’s currently serving as the Chairman of the West African Police Chiefs Committee (WAPCCO) and providing meritorious leadership within the West African Chiefs of Police.

“We have seen Chiefs of Police from across the world coming to attend his events in Nigeria and extending several invitations to him. For the first time, the president of Interpol was at the opening ceremony of the Nigeria Police conference and retreat in Owerri last year under this IGP. Let us please observe some decorum in our politics in Nigeria.

“It is also instructive to note that the NPF does not intend to engage in any form of media tussle or war with the person of the Executive Governor of Rivers State, his administration, or his political affiliations but will continue to play its role as a neutral body in all forms of political activities undistracted.

“Similarly, suffice to say that the local government elections were generally peaceful nationwide, especially in states where the police were in charge of security.

“The IGP emphasizes the Force’s commitment to maintaining law and order, upholding democratic principles, and fostering peace, unity, and progress across the nation.”