₦airaland Forum

An Assistant Commissioner of Police and former Area Command of Bori Zonal Police Command in Rivers State, Mr Akuki Kenneth has declared that the Rivers State Governorship Election on April 11 was peaceful, with no disruption of voting in the state, declaring that he supervised the election in nine Local Government Areas where peaceful distribution of election materials and voting held successfully.

Also, a Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP, Uche Mike Chukwuma who served as Divisional Police Officer for Ahoada East Local Government Area on election day declared that the election in his location was peaceful and violence free throughout his local government area

Testifying at the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Friday, the Assistant Commissioner of Police who served in Rivers State during the governorship election confirmed that during his two-phased patrol, he observed that soldiers were only deployed to the border of the local government areas. He said no soldiers came to the polling units as it was reserved for the policemen and other conventional security agencies.
He said : “Within the period of my patrols, I saw soldiers in clusters at the borders of the local government areas. They were never at the polling units”.

He listed the local government areas under his supervision on election day include; Khana, Gokana, Okirika, Ogu/Bolo, Eleme, Bonny, Opobo /Nkoro, Andoni and Tai. He said he monitored election in Khana, Gokana, Ogo/Bolo, Eleme, Okirika and Tai in two phases of the election, with no case of violence or threat to peace reported to him the policemen on duty.
He added that in the riverine areas where he did not patrol, he received reports that the elections went on peacefully from the respective Divisional Police Officers. The local government areas are: Bonny, Opobo / Nkoro and Andoni.
He berated DSP Yusuf Buba of the Police Mobile Force for lying on oath before the tribunal as he was only deployed to the INEC office in Bori to provide security, hence he did not patrol.
He said that under the police disciplinary procedure, if DSP Buba Yusuf had moved out of his duty post he would have been sanctioned. He declared that DSP Buba never left his duty post, hence he lied when he claimed that he saw people engaged in illegal thumb printing. He said if the policeman had seen any illegal thumb printing, he would have arrested such persons.

He said in the course of his patrol on election day, he observed that there was no violence, accreditation took place and that he also observed voters on queue casting their ballot.

In his testimony, CSP Chukwuma said the election in Ahoada East LGA was peaceful as he monitored the entire council with two detachment of Policemen. He said that his first phase of monitoring was held alongside the Electoral Officer of the area, Mrs Bea uty Anuebunwa without any incident of violence.
He explained that only un – armed policemen were deployed to polling units, pointing out that the 10 mobile policemen deployed to his local government éarea were with him on election day.
Commenting on the testimony by Police Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, Chisom Ezebuiro, the former Ahoada East Divisional Policer said the APC witness played no part in the election as he only led the 63 mobile policemen for the entire Area Command which comprises 14 local government areas to Ahoada East. He said Ezebuiro thereafter said he was ill and remained at the base and did not monitor the election.
CSP Chukwuma declared that the mobile policeman lied as he was indisposed on election day.
Under cross examination by counsel to the Rivers State APC, Akin Olujimi ( SAN ), the two senior police officers maintained that the election was peaceful with accreditation and voting taking place.

Ok

If what they are saying is true then what are they showing as evidence on AIT and Channels then. I personally saw guns and people running here and there and saw reports of ballot box snatching too. We should be careful in our analysis at times