River crisis: Rights Commission summons Amaechi
From GODWIN TSA Abuja
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has summoned the Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to appear before it next week Friday, over the lingering cold war between him and the State Police Commissioner, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu.
Specifically, the governor has been invited by the commission to attend an initial investigative meeting following the petition he sent to the commission.
Amaechi had earlier written a petition to the NHRC over allegations of deteriorating human rights situation in the state. The petition, among other things, accused the state Commissioner of Police ,Mr. Mbu, of exercising his duties without recourse to necessary constitutional and legal standards.
The commission took the action pursuant to its powers under section 6 of the NHRC Amended Act, 2010. The NHRC explained that it decided to act because the petition raised issues which border on violation of fundamental rights.
In a statement yesterday by the Director of Public Affairs and Communication, Mr. Mohammed Ladan, the commission said the presence of the complainant was necessitated by the need to avail its panel of investigators the opportunity to interact with him and obtain any evidence he may have to substantiate the claims he made in the petition.
Amaechi sated in the petition that, “Mr. Mbu’s mode of exercising his duties without recourse to necessary constitutional and legal procedures is creating an environment rife with fear, distrust of security operatives and public institutions, strife, impunity, criminal behaviour and brigandage.
“Currently, the State Commissioner of Police barely acknowledges official communications from the governor, not to mention other principal agents of Rivers State.
“The avenues of giving him lawful directives in my constitutional role as the Chief Security Officer of the state have been unilaterally and unlawfully precluded by Mr. Mbu.”
Amaechi therefore urged the commission to “leverage its independence and capabilities to urgently investigate and ascertain if the current Rivers State Commissioner is still fit and proper to superintend the police formation of a sensitive state in Nigeria with a complex human rights dynamics leading down to a general electioneering.”
Only recently, the Rivers State Government raised the alarm that the state police commissioner, Mbu Joseph Mbu was plotting harm against Governor Amaechi following the sudden withdrawal of the latter’s security commanders.
However, the police command has offered explanations for the move, saying the redeployment of Amaechi’s escort commander was a directive from the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar.

This is good. If Mr Mbu appears also before the Commission he will thoroughly expose Gov Amechi's hypocrisy