The Police in Rivers State have detained the executive chairman of Khana Local Government Area, Greg Bariledum Nwidam and his counterpart in Gokana council, Mr. Demua Ledee Demua, following the invasion of a rally organized by the Save Rivers Movement, (SRM) in Bori, by hoodlums.
Nwidam and Demua, both from the Ogoni axis of the State are staunch supporters of Governor Chibuike Amaechi.
Nwidam and Demua, had gone to the Police headquarter located at Moscow Road on the invitation of the Commissioner of Police, Mr.
Mbu Joseph Mbu, and were later detained at the Old GRA Police Division.
The arrest of the two council chairmen came on the heels of an alarm raised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, which accused
Nwidam of urging the people of Khana to ‘rise and fight’ on the eve of the botched political rally in Bori, the council’s headquarters.
The PDP in the said statement signed by the media aide to the State party Chairman, Jerry Needam also called on the Police to arrest Mr. Nwidam
The statement said, “The resistance to the rally by the Ogoni people,
prompted the Chairman of Khana Local Government Council, Mr Bariledum Greg Nwiedam, who has lost bearing in the area, to resort to thuggery and violence by hiring thugs who unleashed mayhem on the people from 2.00 am to about 11.00 am (Sunday Jan. 19, 2014).
“The heavily armed thugs came in their numbers and shot sporadically
leaving in its trail two Ogoni youths badly shot. One was shot on the leg
and another shot in the stomach.
The Chairman of Khana LGC, Mr Nwiedam had in a radio announcement on Saturday, January 18, 2014, while making public the event (Sunday January 19, 2014) said ‘kana aa ke, e si wee be’ meaning ‘Khana arise, let’s go and fight’.
“The aim of such provocative message could not have been any other than to recruit, incite, and create tension and panic. We therefore call on the police to arrest the Chairman of Khana Local Government Area, Mr Bariledum Greg Nwiedam who on the instructions of Governor Rotimi Amaechi masterminded the crisis and shooting in Bori.”
Meanwhile, an aide to Nwidam, who did not want his name in print said the detained council chairmen were invited to Police headquarters,
Port Harcourt, through the Area Commander in-charge of Bori, and were detained after making their statements.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Ahmad Mohammad confirmed that the two council bosses were in the custody of the Police, although he did not give details.
Mohammad, in a text message to our correspondent read, “I can confirm to you that two local government chairmen are in our custody.”
A police source told our reporter that the local government chairman may be charged to court on grounds of illegal assembly