Dakuku, Wike, In Counter Allegations Over Shooting

Source: thewillnigeria.com

BEVERLY HILLS, March 21, (THEWILL) – The shooting that lasted for over 20 minutes on Sunday, March 20, 2016 in front of the Rivers State headquarters of the Department of State Security (DSS) has led to allegations and counter allegations from the camp of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and that of the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside.

Dakuku's team alleges that the shooting was between Governor Nyesom Wike's chief of staff and his team on one hand and the special security team of the Department of State Security (DSS) on the hand as Wike tried to assassinate Dakuku, his deputy in the 2015 governorship election in Rivers State, Asita O. Asita, and the APC state Chairman.

Giving details of the attack, Davis Ibiamu Ikanya, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, in a press conference in Port Harcourt on Monday, 21 March 2016, disclosed that his team ran from two jeeps that were shooting at them from UTC Junction (near Govt House) back to Isaac Boro Park to evade the shooting but that the jeeps kept trailing their vehicles, shooting.

He said they ran to the DSS who were alerted by a security aide with the DG but that the attackers were not deterred. This allegedly led to a shootout between the attackers and the DSS operatives.

He added that one of the Jeeps ran away but the second was demobilised while attempting to flee, though some of the occupants ran away. He said he was surprised when the DSS apprehended one of the occupants and it ended up being the governor's chief of staff, Emeka Nwoke, who has been detained.

Rejecting the governor's version that Peterside and team were at Isiokpo to manipulate elections, he wondered if that was enough to be killed or trailed for assassination by the governor's direct aide.

He declared that the party was demanding for the cancellation of the entire exercise of March 19, 2016, on the ground that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the state governor had repeatedly said before the results that the result sheets were fake.

He said since the result sheets were deemed fake, and most attacks were based on that assumption, that declaring the PDP as winners with the same result sheets was unacceptable.

However, Wike's team allege that Dakuku, on Sunday, directed his security details to murder an aide to the Chief of Staff to Governor Wike while fleeing with some result sheets from Ikwerre Local Government Area.

According to a statement by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Governor on Electronic Media, the incident took place at the UTC junction in GRA after Dakuku instead of taking Ikwerre Local Government Area result sheets snatched from collation officers to INEC office drove with it towards the GRA.

“He had stormed the Collation Centre in Isiokpo with soldiers after which he hijacked the already collated results, which included the Ikwerre/Emohua Federal Constituency,” the statement read.

“Chief of Staff to Governor Wike, Engr Emeka Woke is a PDP Collation Agent for Emohua Local Government Area Dakuku Peterside, plays politics from Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area and has no links with Ikwerre Local Government Area.

“After he snatched the results alongside his defeated running mate, Asita Asita, Dakuku Peterside and the soldiers fled towards Port Harcourt. The PDP leaders of Ikwerre and Emohua Federal Constituency followed suit.

“At Omagwa near the airport, the soldiers withdrew leaving the SARS personnel from Abuja to take over the electoral theft operation. At Omagwa, defeated APC candidate for Ikwerre State Constituency, Azubike Wanjoku attempted to murder the LGA Electoral Officer when he used his Armoured Sports Utility Vehicle to ram into the Electoral Officer’s car.

“The SARS personnel with Dakuku Peterside also opened fire on the rest of the people. The Electoral Officer was shot. It was from this point that Dakuku Peterside motorcade in neck-breaking speed drove towards Port Harcourt.

“Chief of Staff to Governor Wike, Engr Emeka Woke became a victim as the same SARS personnel with Dakuku Peterside opened fire on the vehicle of the Chief of Staff.

“Like in the case of infamous Chidi Lloyd, Dakuku Peterside went ahead to release a false press statement on the issue,” he declared

Story by David Oputah