The Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) and over 40 affiliate organizations have issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to withdraw police officers from the 23 local government councils in Rivers State or face a statewide mass anti-police protest.
The police deployment, ordered by the IGP, followed the crisis that erupted on Tuesday after the expiration of the tenure of the outgoing chairmen.
The caretaker chairmen newly sworn-in by Governor Siminalayi Fubara are currently operating from homes, hotels, and other convenient places due to the police blockade of the secretariats.
Reacting, Comrade Enefaa Georgewill, South-South zonal chairman of CLO, condemned the police action.
According to him, it is “insulting and demeaning to the people of the state.” He urged the police to stop turning Rivers into a police state.
The CLO chairman added that a competent court of jurisdiction ruled that the Martins Amaewhule Assembly had no right to extend the tenure of the past council chairmen, and the police should obey the subsisting judgment and remain neutral in the matter pending the final ruling by the Appeal Court.
The crisis in Rivers State is a political showdown between the immediate past governor, Wike, and his successor, Governor Fubara.
