report reaching us that eight persons were arrested in Port Harcourt ahead of the election Tribunal selected for Monday 3rd April.
Three lawyers, One State APC Exco, and Four support staff working with the lawyers were arrested.
The lawyers are: Jerry Aondo, Esq (Abuja), Dr. Sobere Nelson, and Odum Eyiba, Esq
We gathered that the eight persons were taken to NPF Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, Ogunabali, and are being transferred to State CID.
Items seized from them include laptops, exhibits required for their petition defense, such as the agent’s copy of form EC8 m, and CTC of INEC documents.
Rivers State APC Spokesperson Mr. Darlington Nwauju had earlier raised an alarm on plots by the police to arrest some members.
The statement below 👇
FRESH PLOT TO ARREST RIVERS APC MEMBERS UNCOVERED
The All Progressives Congress party in Rivers State has intercepted very credible intelligence of plots by Police authorities in Rivers State, principally coordinated by a few tactical teams under the command (e.g. C4i unit, etc), to begin a manhunt for members of the APC in Rivers State, especially our House of Assembly candidates who are determined to reclaim their mandates through Constitutional means to frustrate the push to reclaim these stolen mandates at the Election Petitions Tribunal (EPT).
This latest strategy is, to say the least, emblematic of the serial illegality, conspiracy, intimidation, and harassment that the opposition political parties have had to face and have continued to face under the despotic reign of the outgoing Government.
We wish to warn Police authorities in Rivers State to stop the open display of partisanship which was brought to the fore on the 25th of February and 18th of March 2023, when the free will of Rivers people to voluntarily pick their representatives and the Governor was scuttled by the INEC and the Nigerian Police Force.
For emphasis, no amount of threats, harassment, or intimidations can deter Rivers APC from reclaiming all the mandates freely given to our party by Rivers people as we are already aware that the INEC in Rivers State is struggling to provide evidence of the elections it claimed to have “perfectly” conducted in Rivers State on the 25th February and March 18th, 2023.
