VIDEO: Gov Fubara leads Speaker, others to ‘foil police attempted’ seizure of LG election materials

By OUR REPORTERS, Port Harcourt

The governor is going to hold his election and he, like the President, draws his powers from the Constitution to do so.

In a dramatic turn of events early Friday morning, Rivers State Governor, Sir Similayi Fubara, personally intervened to stop what he described as an attempt by the Nigerian Police to interfere with Saturday’s scheduled local government elections in the state.

CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO FOR THE GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING AT RSIEC

According to government sources, at approximately 1:00am on Friday October 4, 2024, a group of police officers led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) attempted to forcibly enter the offices of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).

The officers allegedly tried to access the commission’s strong room to remove sensitive materials intended for use in Saturday’s polls.

The attempt was thwarted when alert security personnel at the RSIEC office notified Commission officials and the Governor’s office of the unfolding situation.

Governor Fubara quickly mobilized a response team including his Chief of Staff, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, state and national lawmakers, and other key officials and stakeholders and moved to the scene of incident.

The governor and his delegation arrived at the RSIEC headquarters to confront the police directly.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing two police trucks and two Hilux vehicles at the scene.

As of press time, the governor’s team was still at the Commission’s offices to ensure that police did not return and that election preparations could proceed unimpeded.

In a brief statement while address journalists that dark time in the night, Governor Fubara denounced the actions of the police as “an assault on our democracy” and vowed that “the will of the people of Rivers State will not be subverted.”

In the meantime, the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has dared the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to order his shooting, if that is the price for ensuring the smooth conduct of the local government elections in the state on Saturday October 5, 2025.

The declaration came after his midnight confrontation of an alleged team of police attempting to seize ballot materials and seal the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) premises in the early hour of Friday.

It would be recalled that the police, citing a Federal High Court ruling, announced the withdrawal of their personnel from the election, scheduled for Saturday.

However, speaking to the press at the RSIEC premises, Governor Fubara lambasted the IGP for alleged partisanship, claiming that the police chief was displaying excessive loyalty to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

He argued that the Supreme Court ruling outlawing caretaker committees in Local Government Areas validates his decision to conduct the election.

“Keep your security, I do not need it. It happened in Anambara State. This election must hold on Saturday. The result will be declared, the winners will be sworn in,” the governor vowed.

“Enough is Enough,” the Governor added.

The DEFENDER reports that the police have not yet issued an official response to the governor’s accusations watched on video against the officers’ actions as seen in pictures.

In the meantime, the actions by midnight against the effort of the Rivers State government to conduct peaceful local government elections to election chairmen, vice chairmen and councilors to fill council positions, have been described as “sad day for our democracy” by many Nigerians who spoke on separate occasions.

One of them, who spoke to our reporter in Port Harcourt Friday morning, said, “All that Governor Similayi Fubara is doing in Rivers with conducting local government election is what Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has done with his reconstitution of the State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) and for which his on top gear of preparation now to conduct local government elections in matter of months. That is a state that the President, Bola Tinubu under whose control the police that went to invade Rivers SIEC overnight operated, claims to be his base.

“It is the same thing that has been done in other states including APC states, PDP states and others across Nigeria have done,” he said.

Another respondent, who chose to be anonymous in his interview with The DEFENDER via internet call, said, “Tinubu should know that Rivers is gone and slipped off his hand and that there is no amount of abracadabra that his Nyesom Wike can perform that will help him get that Fubara’s state in his pocket.”

According to him, “The people of Rivers State have spoken. They said they do not need the police to oversee their elections tomorrow, Saturday, and that is exactly what they are going to do. Forget about all the talks of minority Fubara. Yes, Fubara is minority but the Rivers State people saying that they are tired of Wike and they do not want him again. That is a fact.

“The governor is going to hold his election and he, like the President, draws his powers from the Constitution to do so. If you are claiming a Supreme Court judgment. How has that translated to blocking local government elections in Rivers State but does not give such translation as other state governments held theirs? Moreso, there even has been no arrangement on ground as to how the court judgment is going to be implemented. What is the noise about?

“The Tinubu government and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, should know that there is a limit to which you can push the push the people until bullets of your guns will no longer be feared because, once the law that is made for the good of the people is not being misapplied to hurt the people, you lose the public trust and confidence of the people as a government. This is the reason you should be careful,” he said.