We have lost 56 members to political killings in Rivers – APC

The All Progressives Congress has said that it lost 56 members to political killings in Rivers State, while about 150 were victims of harassment. The APC Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at a news conference in Abuja, said the development had become worrisome, considering the fact that these killings were “in the full glare of security agents”. Lai Mohammed added that the killings have intensified ahead of the weekend’s governorship and state Assembly elections. He queried why nobody had been arrested by security agents for the killings.

He said: “We have lost 55 persons so far in the run-off to the elections. APC does not have the capacity nor the will to frustrate elections. You all saw what happened in Rivers State during the last elections. “ If you did not see anything, at least you saw when the Returning Officer was asked to read the results, he could not because it was not written by him. “Our party is a party that believes in the Rule of Law. They have the police, the DSS and INEC.

They have these three groups which they are using to subvert democracy in Rivers State. Everyday, they are killing our people and nobody is being held responsible. “We complained that elections did not take place in Rivers. We wrote a petition on that and the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said they set up an Investigative Committee and that what they came out with does not give them any reason to cancel the election.

We accept that, but that is without prejudice to our right to challenge these infractions at the Election Petition Tribunal. “We are saying two things here. First, we are as much concerned for a peaceful, free and fair election as much as being concerned about the safety and security of our people.

We are losing lives everyday and this is uncalled for. “How come Rivers State has recorded more deaths than any other state in the run-off to this election? Or these people that are dying, are they ghosts? We report every time and we hear that the police are after the killers, yet last night one of our leaders was killed.

We are saying all these so that we don’t end up creating a situation that even after elections, we will not have sustainable peace. “I do not see why federal institutions should be used to further the interest of individuals or groups. Federal institutions should be neutral.

We are not crying wolf but saying that our people are dying daily and we are asking both international and local observers to take a look at this and prevent a total breakdown. “We have won the Federal Government and so why should we be interested in oil revenue coming from one state?

We are running a federal system of government under which the states have some autonomy. It does not matter who is the governor of Rivers State. Whoever is the governor of Rivers State will have to administer the resources of Rivers State. What we are saying is, let the people of Rivers State choose who they want.”