The Ebonyi Police Command have confirmed that its men dispersed hundreds of supporters of the Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, who gathered for a rally on Saturday.
Recall that the police dispersed the political gathering by OBIdients (Peter Obi’s supporters) on Saturday morning, in Abakaliki, the State capital.
Reacting, the police accused the ‘Obidients’ – the nickname of supporters of Mr Obi – of not paying the required fees and attacking police officers, hence, the reason for the disruption of the rally.
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This was contained in a statement forwarded to journalists by the Ebonyi police spokesperson, Chris Anyanwu.
Mr. Anyanwu said the police acted based on the request of the Ebonyi government over the non-payment of approved fees.
Mr. Anyanwu, a superintendent of police, also said the supporters met with police before the rally but failed to make the payment approved by the state government.
The supporters also failed to pay another refundable sum of money as collateral in case of any damage to government property during the rally, he alleged.
“Unfortunately, while the policemen were properly deployed to ensure that there was no breakdown of the law, the radicals and mischief-makers among the rallyists became violent and started hauling missiles on the police operatives, uttering all manners of unprintable statements on the police and the government. Many of them even assaulted and attacked the policemen.
“So, in response, and guided by the presidential pronouncements at the era of the unpopular End-SARS protests, the police personnel on duty rose to the occasion to dislodge the violent and criminally-oriented attackers.
“After taking control of the situation, the rally continued and ended peacefully,” Mr Anyanwu stated.
Quest Times understands that Nigerian law does not require a police permit or payment before peaceful rallies or protests are held. The police only need to be informed so they can provide the necessary security.
However, some state governments have started putting campaign rules in place ahead of the campaigns for the 2023 elections which start later this month. Some of the rules include payment of money.