Gov Fubara Threatens To Hold IGP Responsible If….
2 min readRivers State Governor, Siminanayi Fubara, has warned that he will hold the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, accountable if there is any disruption of law and order in the state.
Fubara made this declaration during a press conference in Port Harcourt on Friday, following an incident where he personally intervened at the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission headquarters to stop an attempt to unlawfully remove materials meant for the upcoming local government elections.
“I am saying this here so that the IGP should be aware and just to know that any action that will bring a situation of lawlessness in this state and I think at the end of the day, he should be prepared to take responsibility,” Fubara said.
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The governor expressed concerns and urged the IGP to be mindful of his responsibilities as the head of the nation’s police force, emphasizing that the primary role of law enforcement is to safeguard lives and properties, not to obstruct the operations of the state’s electoral body.
Fubara alleged that the police attempted to steal election materials, saying, “We discovered that that movement was a deliberate attempt by the Nigerian Police Force Command, both the Rivers Command and the Headquarters, to steal the election materials. But by the special grace of God, that act was foiled.”
He questioned the police’s motives, asking, “Why is the case of Rivers different? Is it that the law or the constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria, when it comes to Rivers State, is interpreted in a different way?”
Fubara emphasized that the state government and RSIEC had obtained a court judgment to conduct the election with the 2023 voters’ register, and that the police’s actions were an attempt to subvert the democratic process.