Intimidation: 42 ACN Members Detained, Others Missing In Rivers State

Details: Category: April 2011 Polls; Published on Wednesday, 06 April 2011 06:15; Written by Admin; Hits: 2453

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Rivers State yesterday said no fewer than 42 of its members were currently being detained at the Federal Prisons in Port Harcourt. The party said that the detained members were arrested by men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) on March 28, 2011 at Okrika, the hometown of its governorship candidate, Dr. Abiye Sekibo.

ACN Chairman in the state, Barrister Uche Okwukwu, who disclosed this at a press conference in Port Harcourt, stated that the whereabouts of 10 members of the party who were arrested by the JTF on March 27, 2011 were still unknown.

Okwukwu said the missing ACN members were arrested when the security operatives stormed Lewe Community in Gokana local government area of the state, shortly after the party concluded its campaign rally in the area.

“At about 10.00pm on Sunday, March 27, 2011, men and officers of the Joint Task Force (JTF) stormed the tiny community of Lewe in Gokana local government area of the state and apprehended over 10 CAN supporters.

“The unwarranted arrest was coming on the heels of the ACN rally in Gokana in which the arrested persons featured prominently as eminent ACN members. Up till now, their whereabouts are unknown,” he said.

Okwukwu accused the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under the leadership of the state Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, of using state apparatus to advance their interests by intimidating and harassing the opposition.

In his reaction, Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Blessing Wikina, described the allegations leveled against the state governor and the PDP as a tissue of lies, saying that the secretariat of the Abiye Sekibo Campaign Organisation (ASCO) was sealed in obedience to a court order by the Obio/Akpor local government council.

Reacting to the arrest and detention of ACN members in the state, the spokesperson of the JTF, Lt. Colonel Timothy Antiga denied the involvement of men of the special outfit in the arrest of the party faithful.

“It is not every soldier you see on the street is a member of the JTF. I have said this before that those people were not members of the JTF,” he said. (Leadership)