- Chief Of Staff Also Shot, May Be Crippled
The political crisis in Rivers State, South-South Nigeria, is assuming a more dangerous dimension by the day. Information reaching News Express has it that Senator Magnus Abe, a staunch supporter of embattled Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, was shot this morning during a rally in Obio Akpor by the Save Rivers Group.
The state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) claims that he was shot with a rubber bullet by the police but News Express could not immediately confirm this.
“He was first unconscious after the shooting but we thank God that he has been revived. We understand that he has internal bleeding. He is presently receiving treatment in a hospital in Port Harcourt,” Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, Senior Special Aide on Media and Public Affairs to the State Chairman of APC, Dr. Davies Ikanya, told News Express.
Eze would not divulge further details, saying that the party would soon issue a statement on the issue.
The incident comes barely one week after the bombing, last Monday, of the High Court in Ahoada and razing of the High Chief Magistrate’s Court in Okehi, both in Rivers State – acts which the Nigerian bar Association has attributed to politics and given the federal government one month to probe.
The political atmosphere in Rivers State has been charged for several months as a result of the quarrel between Governor Amaechi and President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife patience. The situation worsened following the defection, last November 26, of Amaechi and his loyalists from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC.
The condition of Senator Magnus Abe, who was shot this morning during an All Progressives Congress (APC) rally organised by the Save Rivers Movement at the College of Arts and Science, Rumuola, Port Harcourt, the state capital, is critical, according to state chapter of APC.
According to a senior state APC official who spoke with News Express, trouble started when “trigger-happy policemen stormed the APC rally and started shooting rubber bullets and teargas canisters to disperse the crowd.”
The source said that “one of the rubber bullets hit Senator Abe, who fell to the ground and would have died instantly if his aides had not quickly grabbed him and rushed him to a hospital in D/Line. It is reported that the case of the Senator is very critical and arrangement is being made by Governor Amaechi to fly him out for medical attention if he recovers from coma.”
As previously reported by News Express, the Chief of Staff to Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Sir Tony Okocha, was also shot by the police in their efforts to stop the rally. News Express learnt that Sir Okocha was shot on his legs. “He may be crippled if urgent attention is not given to him,” a source in Port Harcourt said.
The incident comes barely one week after the bombing, last Monday, of the High Court in Ahoada and razing of the High Chief Magistrate’s Court in Okehi, both in Rivers State – acts which the Nigerian bar Association has attributed to politics and given the federal government one month to probe.
The political atmosphere in Rivers State has been charged for several months as a result of the quarrel between Governor Amaechi and President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife patience. The situation worsened following the defection, last November 26, of Amaechi and his loyalists from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC.
More facts have emerged on this morning’s police invasion of an All Progressives Congress (APC) rally organised by the Save Rivers Movement at the College of Arts and Science, Rumuola, Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Latest information reaching News Express has it that Sir Tony Okocha, the Chief of Staff to Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, was also shot by the police win their efforts to stop the rally. News Express earlier reported the shooting of Senator Magnus Abe during the rally. Both Abe and Okocha were said to have been shot with rubber bullets by the police.
News Express learnt that Sir Okocha was shot on his legs. “He may be crippled if urgent attention is not given to him,” a source in Port Harcourt said.
The incident comes barely one week after the bombing, last Monday, of the High Court in Ahoada and razing of the High Chief Magistrate’s Court in Okehi, both in Rivers State – acts which the Nigerian bar Association has attributed to politics and given the federal government one month to probe.
The political atmosphere in Rivers State has been charged for several months as a result of the quarrel between Governor Amaechi and President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife patience. The situation worsened following the defection, last November 26, of Amaechi and his loyalists from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC.
Source: NewsExpress
