Politics

Soldiers recount how they were brutalized by ‘Wike’s police’

Published

5 years ago

March 19, 2019

Soldiers recount how they were brutalized by 'Wike's police'

Soldiers of the Nigerian Army, Captain Adams Salami and Corporal Adeosun Adebayo, have recounted their experiences in the hands of suspected policemen during the governorship and state assembly elections in Rivers State.

Also the Spokesman of 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Col Aminu Ilyasu has confirmed a trending video in which both Captain Salami and Corporal Adebayo narrated their ordeal as authentic.

The victims, Capt Adams Salami and Corporal Adeosun Adebayo, who are in the Intensive Care Unit at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, said they were left with life-threatening injuries after attackers pounced on them at the Obio/Akpor Local Government Secretariat.

Capt Salami said: “At about 2300 hours, we got information that hoodlums were trying to invade the Obio/Akpor Collation Centre. We were asked to provide security in the area, which we did, with policemen posted there. We agreed that there would be limited access to the premises.

“Five minutes later, the governor’s convoy came with about 30 to 40 cars with hoodlums. Some were in police uniforms, shooting sporadically within the premises. As usual, we decided to step back. I was pleading with them as a soldier to resolve this amicably”

On his part, Corporal Adebayo said: “The policemen in the governor’s convoy started hitting us with their weapons. I could not figure out the reason because nobody asked anybody any question. The policemen were hitting us with the nozzle of their rifles.”

The role of the military in the Rivers State elections has remained a major debacle as both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and international observers have publicly accused the military of playing an unwholesome role in the polls.

Both the incumbent governor, Nyesom Wike, and his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, now a Minister in the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, have been locked in political battle for control of power in Rivers State.

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