By Oluwatosin Maliki
On Sunday night, armed men allegedly stormed the home of the factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie, in Port Harcourt, River State, it was reportedly said that the group of men were police officers and suspected political thugs.
Quest Times gathered that the incident followed the Speaker’s announcement, after declaring himself as the Speaker in the wake of the crisis that rocked the state legislature.
Recall, that about 24 lawmakers had suspended Ehie as House Leader of the State House of Assembly, including two other members of the house.
Although, after Ehie announced himself as the Speaker last month, he told journalist that 26 lawmakers unanimously elected him even as he announced the suspension of some of his colleagues.
However, details of the attack on Ehie’s residence are sketchy, as damage or casualty cannot be ascertained.
Although, it was learnt that his security men thwarted the attack which was suspected to be an assassination attempt.
This incident occurred after 27 lawmakers led by House Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, had travelled to Abuja for a retreat, which was described as capacity building.
The spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, noted that she was yet to get the report.
According to a statement signed by Ken Uchendu, who is said to be Legislative Correspondent of the State House of Assembly, which was sent to newsmen, explained that the attack was an assassination attempt on the life of the speaker, but did not succeed in their plan.
Furthermore, the statement alleged that the attempted assassination was carried out by the head of a police tactical unit in the state, with unidentifiable others.
Also, the statement warned that the senior police officers must be held accountable should anything happen to the new Speaker and his household.
Additionally, it assured the public that footages of the act was fully captured by the CCTV camera which would eventually be made public for confirmation and record purposes.
The statement read, “At about 11 pm on Sunday, November 19, 2023, a group of armed thugs and police officers attached to the CTU B 3 RSV attacked the private residence of the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie, fully armed with an intention to assassinate Mr. Speaker and his family”
“However, the thugs and the police officers were vehemently repelled in a gun battle by the official security details attached to the Speaker”.
In addition, “It is imperative to note that the armed rogues and officers were properly and fully captured by CCTV footage in the residence, which shall be made available to all media houses, including CNN, Aljazeera and other national and international media outlets for the records”.
“Let it be on record that Rivers people, boys, girls, women, men including the aged shall in our numbers occupy the streets naked in demonstration against the Nigerian Police and those sponsoring violence in Rivers State, no matter how highly placed, Rivers people will resist them”.
“Finally, should there be a breakdown of law and order in Rivers State, President Bola Tinubu should hold the Rivers State Police Command and their sponsors in Rivers State responsible.”
