APC leaders under gun attack in Rivers state

National and Rivers State leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), top politicians and reporters yesterday came under gun attack from suspected thugs of the Peoples Democratic Party in a near ambush in Rivers State.

But the heavy presence of security forced the assailants to take to their heels.

The attack came between Omoku, the headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers state and Big Elele, on the way to the Port Harcourt International Airport Road.

Rivers State PDP Chairman Felix Obuah, hails from the local government.

The National leaders of the APC, lead by Deputy National Chairman (South) Chief Segun Oni, who represented National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and state leaders led by the deputy governorship candidate during the April 11 last year’s election, Asita Honourable, were in Omoku to sympathise with the victims of the politically-motivated killings and beheadings. Most of them are members of the APC.

With Oni from Abuja were the National Women Leader Ramatu Tijani and National Youth Leader Ibrahim Jalo, among others.

The sympathy meeting took place at the APC’s local government secretariat in Omoku, a town now deserted for fear of attacks ahead of Saturday’s run off elections.


The trip started from the party’s state secretariat in Port Harcourt, around 8 a.m when party leaders, headed for the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, to receive the visitors from where they all moved to Omoku.

Travelling to Omoku in a long convoy, the normal speed of about 100 kilometres per hour was observed, but the return journey witnessed a snail speed of 20 kilometres per hour.

While at Omoku, the APC leaders got information from undisclosed persons that suspected PDP thugs had laid ambush on the route they took to Omoku, to attack them. They were told to consider taking another route to Port Harcourt.

The APC deputy national chairman, however, called the bluff of the rampaging gunmen and insisted that the return journey must be through the same route (Big Elele to Port Harcourt International Airport). Security was immediately beefed up.

Rather than speeding during the return journey, the convoy drivers opted for slow movement, with many fully-armed and battle-ready soldiers, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and riot policemen on hand to protect the convoy

But the assailants remained in the bush from where they were shooting sporadically. They could not move to the busy highway, and instead ran into the bush.

Speaking in Omoku, the National Chairman of the APC described the situation in Omoku and other parts of Rivers state as genocide and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take immediate action to halt the madness.

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and the Rivers Chairman of the PDP, were directly accused of being behind the politically-motivated killings across the 23 Local Governments of the state, which the PDP leaders described as supremacy battle among cult groups.

The APC leader said: “I am surprised that innocent people are being killed, beheaded, maimed and annihilated on a daily basis, while Wike is describing it as a cult war. The killings are politically-motivated, not cult war. I feel very sad, angry and ashamed that people are being gruesomely murdered and beheaded in Rivers State.

“This is the height of barbarism, wickedness, criminality, debasement and bestiality. I never thought Nigeria would degenerate to this level. We must not allow the killings to go on. We will speak for you (relatives of the victims) and we will not abandon you. Public inquiry must be put in place.”

Asita, who was weeping while speaking at Omoku, stated that the victims were killed for being members of the APC, declaring that heavens would not fall, if President Buhari took drastic action to halt the killings of political opponents and others in Rivers State, to show the presence of government.

The Rivers deputy governorship candidate of the APC wondered for how long the members of the party would be paying with their blood, their loyalty to the APC, declaring that they would prefer to be members of the party and still be alive.