The All Progressives Congress (APC), Rivers State Chapter, has cried out over the recent upsurge in assassination and kidnapping in the state, describing it as condemnable and unacceptable,.

“This upsurge started with assassination of an APC Councillor and kidnapping of three PDP chieftains. With the kidnapping of popular On-Air Personality with Wazobia FM Port Harcourt, Mr. Anthony Akatakpo, famously called Akas Baba, after his home was attacked in the early hours of Thursday, March 13, 2014, the situation appears to be getting out of hand and is becoming too much for us to condone,” APC Rivers said in a statement issued this morning in Port Harcourt by the State Interim Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya.

Continuing, the statement said: “We are aware of the efforts made by the administration of Governor Chibuike Amaechi to make this ugly trend history until the present PDP leadership in the state started promoting insecurity in its bid to destabilise the state following the rejection of the party by Rivers people as demonstrated by the defection of Governor Amaechi and most other Rivers people to APC.

“We strongly condemn this upsurge in crime and wish to urge the new Commissioner of Police, CP Tunde Ogunsakin, to see this as a challenge that must be met. We suspect that this new wave of insecurity is being sponsored by the promoters of the redeployed controversial CP Joseph Mbu in order to justify their failed campaign for the elongation of his evil stay in Rivers on the argument that during his stay we were not witnessing any assassination or kidnapping. We have strong faith in the capability of CP Ogunsakin to rise to the occasion and restore state-wide security if his antecedents are anything to go by.

“Finally, we demand the immediate release of Akas Baba because this man has done much to ease tension among our people under the strangulating economic woes arising from the poor management of our economy by the incompetent PDP at the centre. This request for the immediate release of Akas Baba becomes imperative to enable him to be treated for the injury he sustained in the course of this unfortunate kidnapping. We learnt that he was beaten and shot in the leg by the kidnappers in the presence of his children and wife, despite cooperating with his attackers. He was thereafter whisked away in his Mitsubishi Endeavor SUV with Registration Number LSD 871 CM. This very violent act still leaves Akas Baba’s family in great trauma.”

•Photo shows Rivers Police Commissioner, Tunde Ogunsakin.

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