We Didn’t ‘Intentionally’ Fire Teargas At Gov Fubara…What He Did Wrong-Rivers Police

The Rivers state Police Command  on Wednesday  clarified that  cops did not deliberately fire teargas  at the  state governor,  Mr. Siminalayi Fubara, during the protest staged by some young people at the House of Assembly complex,  Port Harcourt on Monday .

The state  command  submitted that  efforts were only being made to ensure protection  of lives and  property adding that  the use of water cannons and tear gas was to disperse the protesters.

Team@orientactualmags.com learned that  spokesperson for the state command, Grace Iringe-Koko, who disclosed this  on Wednesday, also noted that  the police had taken steps to control the situation because of information earlier received that hoodlums were planning to attack the house of assembly complex.

‘Following the receipt of credible intelligence on the intention of some armed group of persons to cause mayhem in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, particularly at the State House of Assembly on Monday, October 30, and recalling the previous  incident recorded at  the State House of Assembly the previous day which is currently being investigated, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations immediately deployed armed cops which he personally supervised in order to intercept the ‘hoodlums’ and ensure the protection of lives and property within the State House of Assembly facility and its environ.

At the complex’s entrance, it was observed that young people numbering over a hundred had begun a protest and were seeking to gain access to the complex and conduct themselves in a manner likely to cause a breach of peace.

This led to the police deploying non-lethal crowd control equipment, including tear gas and water cannons, to disperse the riotous and uncontrollable protesters.

However, some minutes later, another aggressive group of persons approached the entrance of the complex and advanced towards the premises. The police, therefore, engaged them in like manner but observed that the Executive Governor of the State, Siminalayi Fubara, was in their midst’ the statement said.

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The police command also noted that the presence of the governor at the House of Assembly complex was  surprising and shocking given that  no prior communication  had been made to the police , ‘which ordinarily is the usual protocol and complimentary that we accompany his guard for proper safety considering the intelligence of security threat that was at hand’.

‘In consideration of this, the DC Ops quickly took deliberate security steps to ensure his protection and safety while the governor and his entourage went on to assess the level of damage caused by the fire incident.

Thus, it’s pertinent to state that the Police did not deliberately attack the governor or even attempt to hurt anyone, let alone the Chief Executive and security officer of the state, which is our most essential role to protect as being peddled in the news. Due to the present situation and the misrepresentation in some sections of the media, it is pertinent to clarify this.

Similarly, the Rivers state Police Command has emplaced adequate security measures to ensure that the situation de-escalates, and total calm is restored in the affected areas’ the statement added- Team@orientactualmags.com
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