FOLLOWING Tuesday’s botched coup attempt by four lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly to impeach
the Speaker Otelemaba Dan Amachree, the state commissioner of police allegedly sealed off the gates leading to the Government House in the Government Reserved Area of in the state’s capital city of Port Harcourt.
Sharpedgenews.com successfully got in touch with the state commissioner for information, Ms. Ibim Seminitari, who denied earlier news tips that shots were fired into the premises with possible number of human casualties.
According to Ms. Seminitari, “Unknown individuals fired teargas canisters into the premises of the Governor’s House. But there is no evidence of live gunshots yet. And there is no casualty.”
The commissioner flashed a “Save Our Soul” beckon to progressive forces in the country and to the civilized world to caution central authorities in Nigeria to respect the supremacy of the constitution and the laws of the land so that “this republic would not fail.”
She cautioned that the situation should not be allowed to degenerate into a similar past example where a sitting Governor Chris Ngige of Anambra State was kidnapped.
Ms. Seminitari said that the current barricade set by the police commissioner as a result of which Governor Rotimi Amaechi has now been held occurred at the height of military dictatorship.
Analysts believe Tuesday’s failed coup in the House of Assembly and Wednesday’s barricading of the entrance of the Governor’s House is believed to be at the instance of the unnatural paranoia of President Goodluck Jonathan.
The tragic twist in the politics of River State is a sad reminder of the events that led to the failure of Nigeria’s 1st and 2nd republics elected leadership.