Rivers State governor, Nyeson Wike has alleged that officers of the State Security Service (SSS), who went to arrest some judges in his state today, Saturday, threatened to shoot him when he tried to prevent them from carrying out the arrest.
This was even as the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said that the governor was telling lie and playing to the gallery.
Governor Wike said that while some of the officers rough-handled him, pushing him around and injuring his hand, others “cocked their rifles and threatened to shoot me.”
“It doesn’t matter what it will cost. When you talk about liberty, sacrifices must be made. We are not trying to stop an arrest. All we are saying is that things must be done decently and in line with the rule of law.
“Rivers State is under siege. For you to see a governor out at this time of the day, something is wrong. A siege is an understatement. If this type of thing happens next time, the people will resist it to the last, Wike stated.
A statement issued by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, said the security operatives were irked by Wike’s arrival at the scene shortly after the failed abduction process began. It was learnt that Wike received security information on the illegal moves, minutes after the operation started.
According to Nwakaudu, the security operatives blocked the entrance of the residence of the Federal High Court judge at about 1am on Saturday morning, claiming that they were acting on orders from above. As they dragged Governor Wike, they insisted that they must be allowed to leave with the judge.
However, the commotion attracted passersby and journalists who thronged the vicinity to know why hundreds of security agents in several Patrol vans had been mobilized.
Upon the arrival of the national media, the Rivers State Director of the DSS, Mr. Tosin Ajayi jumped into his vehicle and fled the scene.
However, addressing journalists, Rivers State Police Commissioner, Francis Odesanya said the two security agencies were at the scene because they received privileged information.
Odesanya claimed he was at the scene as a peace maker. He declined comments on why the Police joined the DSS to abduct a serving Federal High Court judge.
In an interview with journalists at the scene of the failed illegal abduction of a Federal High Court judge by the Police and DSS, Wike said it will not be under his watch that security agencies wiĺl be allowed to entrench needless impunity.
He declared that their reckless action portends danger to the nation’s democracy, noting that he is convinced that President Buhari is not aware of the level of impunity being perpetrated by Federal Security agencies.
Wike stated that whatever the situation, the rule of law must prevail in a democratic setting.
He said if the security agencies had a lawful directive to implement, they must follow due process.
The official residence of another judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, on Zone E of Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja, was also searched.
DSS had no warrant for the search conducted on Justice Dimgba’s house, according to family sources.
Two Justices of the Supreme Court – Justices Sylvester Ngwuta and John Okoro – had earlier in the day, been arrested at their official residences in Abuja by men of the Department of State Service and in Rivers state, an attempt to also arrest another Supreme court judge was resisted by governor Wike.
The arrest was led by Mr. Tosin Ajayi, Rivers State Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), and Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mr. Francis Odesanya.
And in a statement, the Rivers State Chapter of the APC described the alleged failed arrest of a Federal High Court Judge and the attempt on the life of Governor Wike as false.
A statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of Rivers State APC, Senibo Chris Finebone said: “early this morning, the media space was once again putrefied with a bizarre account by Gov. Nyesom Wike of his encounter with a detachment of security personnel and how he [the governor] was allegedly manhandled.
“To give the incident more prominence in the media space, the governor, through his media assistant, Simeon Nwakaudu, issued a statement which opened with an assertion that what happened was part of a siege on Rivers State by the Federal Government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Ordinarily, this morning’s macabre dance by Gov. Nyesom Wike should not merit any serious interest from anyone, because everyone has become sick and tired of such from him, but for the innocent people and residents of Rivers State whom he subjects to unbridled lies and misinformation under one phantom excuse or the other.
“There is no question that the melodrama is just one of the many chapters in Gov. Wike’s book on political demagoguery. Or how can anyone explain the many obvious inconsistencies that fly in the face of his highly mendacious account to the media this morning?
“Indeed, we ask: “How come the governor said he did not know the occupant of the house? How did he find his way to the gate of a house he did not know the occupant? Is the judge of a federal high court under the governor of Rivers State? May be, yes but why? Is the federal high court, its judges and the DSS not belong to the same federal government?
“The APC believes that the governor is once again up to his dishonest self. We do not believe his account. We believe that the bizarre stunt of bravado being peddled by Gov. Wike is just for the purpose of convincing his collaborators in the judiciary in Rivers State that he will always protect them.
“The claim by Gov. Nyesom Wike that his presence at the scene of the incident was to help resist abduction is typically dishonest. He was there to obstruct justice. Simple! And the reason is that crime connects much more than innocence does.
“But how far really can the governor go in shielding his cohorts from the law? Can the governor, for example, appear with those that have been dragged before the National Judicial Council [NJC]? Can he?
“We thank God that Governor Wike is in a position to tell the story [for whatever it is worth] by himself. If there was a role change in the morning, the security people would not be alive to tell their story now.
“The APC believes that recklessness is a choice which attracts consequences. May be Gov. Nyesom Wike learnt a lesson or two this morning. Please, let him deal with it and stop hawking insinuations or attempt to drag the APC or Mr. President into the matter.” [myad]
