The suspended governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has condemned the Nigeria Police for their alleged heavy-handedness and suppression of peaceful demonstrators in various parts of Rivers State, as political tensions rise in the oil-rich South-South region.
This criticism follows two separate protests staged by women’s groups in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area and Ahoada East Local Government Area, aimed at expressing their views regarding the declaration of a state of emergency in the state.
The protesters in Port Harcourt expressed support for the emergency rule, while those in Ahoada East called for Fubara’s reinstatement.
Last Friday, a group of women, under the banner of Rivers Women Unite for Sim, protested against the emergency rule and demanded the reinstatement of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The latest demonstration, organised by ‘Rivers Women for Peace and Good Governance’, saw women, predominantly dressed in white, asserting that the emergency rule was constitutional. They also refuted claims of being paid to support the emergency rule while expressing their backing for President Bola Tinubu.
The women gathered at the Garrison junction around 7.30 am on Monday, marched along Aba Road, and reached the popular Isaac Park in Port Harcourt, where they sang and displayed placards bearing various messages.
Some of the placards featured slogans such as, “Emergency rule is Constitutional,” “Rivers women voted for you but you made us your slaves,” “Investigate Fubara’s bloated contracts award,” “Say no to dictatorship,” “Rivers women need peace in our state,” and “We support Tinubu,” among others.
Led by former commissioner for Social Welfare in the state, Mrs Inime Aguma, and other leaders, the protesters asserted that the state of emergency had brought relative calm and peace to Rivers since its implementation.
Speaking to journalists after the rally, Mrs Aguma expressed her support for the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas (retd.), stating that his leadership has fostered peace and good governance in the state.
She remarked, “Gathered here are Rivers women who need peace in Rivers State. We are gathered here because of the anomalies in our system. We also thank the President for declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State. We are grateful and pleased with it and living well with it.”
Aguma continued, “We said this because our democratic structure was decimated, the House of Assembly was left comatose and there cannot be any democracy with only two arms of government working. We know the doctrine of separation of powers, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. For over two years, the legislature was clamped down; we have a big wound that needs to heal.”
She highlighted the turmoil surrounding the House of Assembly, stating, “The House of Assembly was burnt down because of rumours of impeachment and while that was going on, the assembly complex was demolished, the taxpayers’ money was spent; that is an aberration.”
Aguma added, “Despite such an incident, there was no investigation. Recently, we have heard the former Head of Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, mention some allegations against the former government. We want the police to follow up on such allegations. Let us not be emotional and sentimental about facts. We have not had a government in Rivers State.”
In contrast, the situation at the Ahoada protest was marked by tension, as security operatives used teargas against women demonstrating against the emergency rule and calling for the reinstatement of the suspended governor.
Around 200 protesters from Elleye and Engine communities in Ahoada East Local Government Area marched to condemn the appointment of a sole administrator in the state. While the Ahoada protesters faced teargas, the ‘Women for Peace and Good Governance’ group in Port Harcourt conducted their rally peacefully without interference.
As the pro-Fubara women marched, chanting solidarity songs, they held placards with messages such as “Ibas leave us alone” and “Our democracy is threatened,” as security operatives, including police officers, attempted to halt their progress.
When the women refused to disperse, security forces fired teargas to disperse them, prompting the protesters to flee in various directions. A viral video later surfaced showing emotional scenes of some women crying after inhaling the teargas, insisting they wanted Governor Fubara reinstated.
An elderly woman without a brassiere was seen in the video being supported by others, while soldiers were observed trying to disperse the crowd and forcibly removing banners and placards.
One of the women declared, “We are here to tell President Bola Tinubu that since he declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, it has not been easy. We, the women, are hungry; we are suffering and dying. Sim is our hope. We say bring back our Governor. We love him. We say no to emergency rule in Rivers State. We voted for Sim, not sole administrator. We don’t want a caretaker. Let the FCT Minister remain in Abuja and leave Sim alone.”
Soon after, the chant of “We want Fubara, we want Fubara” filled the air, with three elderly women kneeling on the ground, pleading, “We want peace in Rivers State.”
In response to the dual protests, Jerry Omatsogunwa, Special Adviser to the suspended Governor on Electronic Media, praised the pro-Fubara protesters, labelling them as heroes of democracy. He also criticised the women in Port Harcourt who supported the emergency rule and the appointment of a sole administrator.
Omatsogunwa condemned the police for their unequal treatment of the protesters, stating, “First and foremost, I want to thank the women in Ahoada for standing and fighting for democracy. And it is like the police have two standards for the same activity right now. You can see old women who came out in Ahoada to exercise their right to protest when they see that things are not going well, the police teargassed them. The police teargassed them to the extent that one of them, an old woman, fainted.”
He continued, “While the ones in Port Harcourt here that said they support illegality and said they support the King Solomon son-division situation that said let us kill the child so that we can prove the owner, they were guarded, protected and directed by the police. So I tell you, those women who protested in Port Harcourt, I think they don’t mean well for the state, and the ones that protested in Ahoada, I say kudos. They are the heroes of democracy.”
Omatsogunwa added, “I think the whole world should keep an eye on the state Commissioner of Police and the sole administrator. When the sole administrator came here, he said there was no problem in the state. Maybe he has another agenda because we learnt he is nursing a governorship ambition in his own Cross River State, so he needs to also gather some money just to justify it.”
The political crisis in Rivers State has intensified, leading to President Bola Tinubu declaring a state of emergency and suspending Governor Fubara, his deputy, Mrs. Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Tinubu appointed Ibas as the sole administrator of the state for an initial period of six months, a decision supported by the Senate and House of Representatives through a voice vote.
In response, 11 PDP governors have filed a suit against the President and the National Assembly in the Supreme Court, challenging the President’s authority to declare an emergency rule and suspend elected officials in a state. The PDP governors have engaged 11 Senior Advocates of Nigeria and six other attorneys to contest the Federal Government’s actions regarding the emergency declaration and the suspension of a democratically elected institution of the state.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has begun drafting President Bola Tinubu’s response to the suit brought by the PDP governors challenging the declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State.
