Rivers rerun: PDP condemns dismissal of 6 police officers

• Seeks Their Immediate Reinstatement
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has condemned the dismissal of six police officers attached to the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), stressing that the offences adduced for their secret trial and subsequent dismissal was “mere concoction and a ruse.”

In a statement signed by the party’s spokesperson of the national caretaker committee, Dayo Adeyeye, PDP alleged that “the hurried dismissal of these police men is another valid pointer to the pre-election rigging plans and the assassination attempt on Governor Wike by the APC-led administration before the December 10, 2016 Rerun Elections in Rivers State”

Recalling that the Nigeria Police Force withdrew over 70 percent of its personnel deployed to Rivers State Government House and the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the Governor few days to the Elections, the party added: “It is obvious by this latest action that the APC led administration after the failed assassination attempt on Governor Wike, decided to punish the six police officers, who defended their oath of office and job ethics by refusing to carry out the hatchet plans.”

PDP maintained that the accusation of ‘professional misconduct’ leveled against the officers, who were only performing their constitutional duties by the Police hierarchy is a slap on the rule of law, ethical responsibility of police duties and the tenets of democratic values.

“This is unfair and highly condemnable as the accused officers were not even allowed to defend themselves, before they were summarily dismissed, which is against basic human rights. Change administration indeed!”

While stressing that the dismissal was unacceptable, PDP said the officers should be reinstated immediately in the interest of professionalism, justice, equity, and fair play, adding that their immediate re-instatement is equally in the interest of the Nigerian Police to save its bartered image.

“Otherwise, this action will be further understood to mean that the Police surely has something to hide but instead played to the gallery with this contraption as a cover up to their hidden agenda and the atrocities committed by some of its men during the Rerun elections,” the party said.

PDP further alleged that “the leader of the police Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) in Rivers State, Mr. Akin Fakorede, was seen on television with his men openly hijacking election materials and intimidating voters and INEC officials” during the Rerun elections, and wondered why those ones have not been sacked.