Suspected political thugs on Friday night invaded a popular hotel in the Orazi axis of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, disrupting a live television interview being conducted by Arise TV on the political situation in the state.

The incident occurred around 9:15 pm while an Arise TV crew was hosting a former Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, during a live broadcast of the station’s News Night programme.

The interview was reportedly taking place within the hotel premises when the assailants stormed the location.

Eyewitnesses said the attackers, believed to be politically motivated and allegedly armed, forcefully broke into several rooms in the hotel while chanting in a local dialect. In the process, they reportedly seized mobile phones from occupants, triggering panic among guests and staff.

“They were chanting in their local language, forcing doors open, and seizing people’s phones. Workers in the hotel started running helter-skelter,” an eyewitness told journalists.

Sources said the assailants were specifically searching for Dr. Nwibubasa and the Arise TV cameraman. They eventually located the venue of the ongoing interview, where they allegedly issued threats against the former commissioner and members of the television crew, forcing an abrupt end to the live broadcast.

One of the Arise TV reporters involved in the operation said he received a distress call from his colleague at the height of the invasion and immediately alerted the police while rushing to the scene.

“At that point, I called the police control room and also contacted some colleagues. The police said they were on their way,” he said.

He added that upon arrival at the hotel, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area and his men were already on the ground.

With the assistance of the hotel manager, security personnel ensured that Dr. Nwibubasa and the affected journalists were safely escorted out of the premises and taken to the Kala Police Station for protection.

According to him, statements were taken from the victims as part of preliminary investigations.

An Arise TV cameraman, identified simply as Promise, said several broadcast equipment were stolen during the incident. He listed the items as a Sony Canada Z280 camera, an industrial tripod, wireless microphones and other accessories.
“I had just filed a report from an earlier assignment and immediately started the live interview when two men stormed the place and disrupted the programme,” he said.

Promise added that the attackers made threatening remarks before fleeing the scene upon sighting the police, who responded to distress calls from journalists and hotel management.

Confirming the incident, Dr. Nwibubasa said he was safe and credited the timely intervention of the police for preventing further escalation. He, however, condemned the attack, describing it as a dangerous signal for democratic engagement in the state.

“I was already rounding off the interview and speaking about the forthcoming 2027 general elections. They are already showing signs of what will happen,” he said.

“They were breaking down doors looking for me. Why? This is supposed to be a free society. This kind of intimidation is unhealthy for democracy,” the former commissioner added.

Efforts to obtain an official response from the Rivers State Police Command proved unsuccessful. The spokesperson of the command, Grace Iringe-Koko, did not respond to multiple calls and had yet to reply to a text message sent to her as of Saturday morning.