Aftermath Of Court Ruling: Rivers Police Fire Teargas At Lawmakers, Barricade House Of Assembly

SAN FRANCISCO, December 12, 2013, (THEWILL) - The political crisis in Rivers State continued on Thursday as officers of the Rivers State Police Command, who have resolutely remained partisan in the battle for the control of the state government, brutally dispersed lawmakers that returned to the Assembly complex to hold their first session in months following the Federal High Court Abuja ruling on Wednesday that nullified a resolution by the National Assembly, which gave them powers to take over the functions of the House. Justice Ahmed Rammat Muhammed had in his ruling nullifying the resolution further ordered the National Assembly to stop performing the functions of the Rivers State House of Assembly which it took over after two factions of the House - one with loyalty to the State Governor and the other to the wife of the President and the Presidency - engaged in a brutal and near fatal fight for all. According to reports monitored by THEWILL, the policemen barricaded the House complex with armoured personnel carriers and trucks, refusing the lawmakers access into their chamber on the excuse that they haven't been served a copy of the order of the court. Following the blockade, the lawmakers (25 out of 26 members of the House) held their session outside the complex in the presence of journalists and supporters, forcing the police to disperse them by firing canisters of tear gars and shooting into space. Several persons were reportedly wounded during the incident.