The Rivers Rerun Election Saga
Penultimate Saturday’s rerun legislative elections in Rivers State were marred by irregularities, allegations and counter allegations of poll malpractice by the two main political parties. Ernest Chinwo, in Port Harcourt, reports
An atmosphere of fear and apprehension pervaded Rivers State in the days preceding the December 10 rescheduled rerun legislative elections in the state. Residents of the state had every reason to fear. The governor, Nyesom Wike, alleged that there was a planned “invasion” of the state by forces he claimed were using “federal might” to ensure victory for the All Progressives Congress candidates. He also said there was a connivance of security agencies and the Independent national Electoral Commission to rig the elections in favour of the APC. Wike threatened fire and brimstone should that happen in the state.
Two days to the election, bigwigs of the APC converged on Port Harcourt in a mega rally. No fewer than 10 state governors, ministers and members of the National Assembly and other party bigwigs attended the rally.
National Chairman of the APC, Chief John OdigieOyegun, said at the rally, “As you can see, we came with full force; the whole federal might is here. We have the governors here today. Our senators and other members of the National Assembly are here today. Our women leaders are here today, to pass one message.
“We want to let you know that we have heard your cries; we have seen your anguish. The message is simple; enough is enough. This is the beginning of the rescue mission in Rivers State... I am glad with what I am hearing: if they push you, push them. If they snatch a result sheet, snatch it back.”
Also addressing the rally, the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, who is the immediate past governor of the state, called on members of the APC not to allow PDP members to intimidate them during the election.
He said, “This is the election of our lives. Before, I use to tell you, please, don’t fight. What I will tell you today is do not kill anybody but do not be killed.
“It is not only them that have right to life, you also have a right to life. I don’t want to hear that they shot me and took away result sheets. If they take result sheets from you, collect it back from them. You know I have never said anything like this before.”
But while the political parties were chanting war songs, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, assured the electorate of adequate security and trouble for miscreants.
Idris said, “We are coming out with a lot of enforcement to support the Rivers State Police Command. We are deploying over 28,000 police officers.
“On that day we have to dominate the waterways by all means. We are reinforcing operations with 28 gunboats, we are deploying 18 extra Armoured Personnel Carriers which are going to be used to dominate the whole environment so that people can conduct elections in a peaceful manner.
“Twenty police dogs, most of these dogs will be stationed at the collation centres both at the local government levels and state level to ensure that we protect the INEC headquarters in each of the areas.”
The police chief said, “No politician will go to the polling unit with any police officer. Nobody should be allowed to carry money in his car, nobody should be allowed to move with arms.”
Perhaps to show the seriousness of his words, the police high command withdrew even Wike’s chief security officer and some of the aides attached to him.
That was the mood before the election. Everywhere was electrified with anticipation of violence. Indeed, on Election Day, there was uneasy calm across the state. Many people expected the worst and stayed indoors.
But as if to prove bookmakers wrong, election proceeded peacefully in most polling units across the state.
However, one person was killed by suspected operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad when what started as a peaceful election degenerated to a violent exercise, especially in the Ogoni area of the South East Senatorial Zone of Rivers State.
There were reports of police invasion of a polling station at St. Pius X College, Bodo, where Units 2 and 3 of Ward 3 were voting.
When THISDAY visited the scene, voters had dispersed but there were tell tales of destruction left behind: destroyed ballot boxes, already thumb-printed ballot papers and empty shells of bullets.
The SARS operatives were alleged to have attacked Ward 2 in Bodo City and killed one Mr. Meebari Kormaga.
Secretary to the State Government, Hon. Kenneth Kobani, a PDP member, told journalists, “They have killed an innocent man who just came out to exercise his franchise in cold blood. I don’t know how people think they can ride to power on people’s blood.”
But when contacted for his reaction, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni, said there was no report of violence in the area and elections in the area was peaceful.
“We have just left Gokana in the company of the GOC and there was no iota of violence or election malpractice. Everywhere was peaceful. We also visited Bodo especially and there was nothing to even suggest violence.”
Across the state, there were allegations by both APC and PDP supporters of disruption of the collation exercise and carting away of election materials and result sheets. The situation got worse as collation continued. Addressing a crowd of residents at the Port Harcourt City Hall, Wike said the overbearing federal might would not be allowed to happen in any other election in the state as the people have been taught how to prepare for elections. He also threatened to withdraw logistics support to security agencies in response to their alleged activities during the elections.
The governor, in a state-wide broadcast, alleged that some governors elected on the platform of the APC donated N1 billion each to rig the rerun legislative elections in the state in favour of the APC.
“If Rivers people could be visited with such a despicably high degree of violence, mayhem and killings by some renegade military and SARS operatives with impunity just to rescue the dying political fortunes of the All Peoples Congress in a mere legislative re-run elections, then we can now begin to imagine what is likely to happen in the State when the political stakes would be very much higher in 2019,” he said.
He singled out two officers: Assistant Commissioner of Police, Stephen Hasso and the Commander of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Akin Fakorede (CSP), as operatives who allegedly tormented Rivers people, killing many in the process.
His words: “Today, we have clearly and eloquently been vindicated. Despite the unprecedented deployment of over 28,000 police personnel, three helicopters and 20 gun boats for the re-run elections, we all witnessed how Stephen Hasso, Akin Fakorede and their gang of marauders took direct and complete control of the election process from INEC in the Rivers South-East Senatorial District, as well as in Ikwerre, Emouha and Port Harcourt Local Government Areas, and left unimaginable trails of mayhem, shootings, maiming and killing of innocent people.”
The governor, last Thursday also led a protest march to the state police headquarters where he demanded that both Hasso and Fakorede should be posted out of the state for their roles in the election.
“We demand that the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Stephen Hasso, and the Commander of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Akin Fakorede, must leave the state,” he said.
He noted that the Police High Command had refused to act despite the overwhelming evidence against the duo, especially the video footage that showed Fakorede and other security operatives trying to snatch results of the Rivers East Senatorial District.
Ironically, Wike’s protests against the Nigeria Police coincided with the leakage of the audio recording of an alleged phone conversation between him and some INEC officials involved in the elections. In the conversation, which has been widely circulated in the social media, the governor was heard threatening the poll official with even death if they failed fix the elections in favour of the PDP candidates.
While the police is yet to make a categorical statement on the role of SARS operatives in the election, the army has stoutly defended its men. The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division Nigerian Army, Maj. Gen. Kasim Abdulkareem, in a press statement in Port Harcourt denied that the army was involved in illegal activities.
He said: “The 6 Division, Nigerian Army remained apolitical in the conduct of the election. Its soldiers provided perimeter defence to ward off hoodlums and miscreants. Nigerian Army troops were in no way involved in any form of ballot box snatching, neither were they involved in the escort of politicians as alleged.”
The APC has insisted that Wike and the PDP connived with key actors within INEC to rig the rerun election in many parts of the state. The party staged a peaceful protest last Friday to the INEC and the state police headquarters, demanding the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak.
The protesters dropped letters for the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and INEC national chairman, Professor Yakubu Mahmud.
They also dropped a copy of the audio recording where Wike allegedly threatened to deal with officials of INEC that refused to work for him during the rerun election in the state.
Addressing the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyril Okoro, who received the protesters on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Francis Odesanya, the APC deputy governorship candidate in the 2015 election, Hon. Honourable Asita, said the letter for the Inspector- General of Police, was a demand for investigation into the killing of policemen during the rerun election.
Asita also called for investigation into the alleged bribery of INEC staff by the governor during the rerun polls. While the two main parties are defending their positions, political observers fear that if necessary steps are not taken to punish those found to have perpetrated malpractices during the rerun elections, the situation in future elections in the state may be worse.