The Presidency and the Nigerian Police High Command this morning came under attack over the brutal disruption of Tuesday’s rally in the federal capital, Abuja, organised by the Anti-Corruption Network to protest against the endless impunity being perpetrated in Rivers State by the controversial Police Commissioner, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu.

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Rivers State Chapter, said in a statement issued in the state capital, Port Harcourt, that it received the news of the police action with great shock. The party expressed outrage that the police went to the extent of attacking pregnant women and children who were part of the peaceful protest.

“That the police could brazenly roll out its arsenal and viciously crush a peaceful protest by Nigerian citizens is not only regrettable but also condemnable as it cannot be defended under any circumstances,” Rivers State APC Interim Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, said in the statement, a copy of which was made available to News Express.

He said “it beats the imagination why the police in the federal capital ruthlessly attacked innocent protesters, including pregnant women and children, with large doses of teargas while also shooting sporadically and spraying hot water on the marchers in a desperate bid to crush the rally.”

Dr. Ikanya said that “with this sad turn of events, it is now obvious to the entire world that the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are behind the instability and impunity going on in Rivers State.”

He commended the Anti-Corruption Network and its Executive Secretary, former member of the House of Representatives, Dino Melaye, for standing up to be counted on the part of democracy. “With people like Melaye and his Anti-Corruption Network, there is still hope that Nigeria’s troubled democracy could still be salvaged from the hands of anti-democratic forces led by the Presidency and the PDP,” APC concluded.

•Photo shows Dino Melaye, organiser of the disrupted rally.

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