Olayiwola Matthew
Rivers State-based environmentalist and human rights activist, Ann-Kio Briggs, has criticized the Nigeria Police Force for what she described as “unacceptable” and “dangerous” conduct in the oil-rich state. “If no one is going to defend us, we may be forced to defend ourselves,” Briggs stated during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday.
She accused the police of selectively enforcing court orders, even after the election of 23 local government chairmen in the state. Briggs expressed dismay over the police decision to withdraw officers from local council secretariats, despite Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s warning that some political actors, unhappy with the election outcome, were planning to cause unrest.
“We have been sounding the alarm since last October, when this political chaos began,” Briggs said. “It’s like the saying: the witch cried in the night, and the child died in the morning. We know exactly what is happening.”
She pointed out that the local governments experiencing violence were the same ones whose leaders had refused to accept the end of their tenure months earlier.
These leaders, according to Briggs, have openly criticized the governor since last year. “The police have kept the 23 local government offices of Rivers State locked for the past three months, after the expiration of the chairmen’s tenure. And now, this morning, they were ordered to leave, fully aware that trouble was likely, putting the newly elected chairmen at risk,” she said.
Briggs also criticized President Bola Tinubu for not intervening sooner, noting that Rivers residents had been calling on him for over a year to step in.
“Now that the situation has escalated, local governments are in flames, and the President is asking the governor and some unnamed individuals to ensure the state’s safety. It is the responsibility of the police to maintain order, and this situation is both dangerous and unacceptable to the people of Rivers State,” she concluded.