Wike alleges plot to bomb electoral body’s office in Rivers

HURIWA tasks security agencies on neutrality during elections
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State yesterday accused opposition politicians and security operatives of planning to bomb Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) offices in order to disrupt elections in the state.He stated this in his state broadcast in Port Harcourt during which he declared today public holiday, saying the politicians and the security operatives also plan to destroy voting materials at Registration Area Centres to ensure the polls are not peaceful in the state.

He cited credible intelligence linking a former governor of the state and Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi and other APC chieftains of being behind the plot to disrupt the voting processes on a scale that will force INEC to cancel the elections on account of insecurity.

He also claimed that several Hilux vehicles painted in military colours have been given to militants to carry out attacks in the state during Saturday’s election. But All Progressives Congress (APC) spokesman in the state, Chris Finebone, dismissed Wike’s allegations against Amaechi and the APC, describing them as baseless.

Wike urged the international community to hold Amaechi and the APC responsible for any outbreak of violence in the state during the elections.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has charged the Department of State Services (DSS), the Police and Nigeria Army to be neutral in the discharge of their duties during the general elections.

HURIWA, however, promised to sponsor a bill before the National Assembly to grant full autonomy to the DSS to operate like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States of America (U.S.A.). It also decried the sudden upsurge of politically motivated arrests and detention of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) officials by DSS operatives.The rights group cautioned that should the trend continue, the elections would be tainted by corrupt practices in favour of the incumbent thereby denying the process legitimacy and credibility, which may lead to migrations from the country.