Rivers Crisis: IGP Issues Fresh Directive to Police, Details Emerge

• The Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun has said that the police will ensure that the 23 local government secretariats in Rivers state will remain shut
• Egbetokun lamented the killing of an inspector during the political violence in one of the local governments in the state
• The police boss said that his officers would not leave the local government secretariats until the court delivered its judgement on the tenure elongation of the council chairmen

Legit.ng journalist Bada Yusuf is an accomplished politics and current affairs editor, boasting over seven years of experience in journalism and writing.

FCT, Abuja - Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector general of police, has ordered his men to continue taking over all the local government secretariats in Rivers state amid tense political tensions.

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Egbetokun lamented the political crisis in Rivers and maintained that the police would remove the barricades at the local government secretariats as soon as the court gave its judgment.

According to The Punch, the police boss disclosed this while addressing journalists on the sideline of his meeting with senior police officers and commissioners in Abuja on Thursday, June 21.

When will police leave Rivers LG secretariats?

Egbetokun maintained that the police would not leave the local government secretariats until the court decided on the controversy surrounding the tenure extension of the local government chairmen in the state.

He said the security operatives' presence at the secretariats was to ensure peace and order, not to intimidate anyone.

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He then reiterated that the Nigeria Police Force is committed to preemptive measures to forestall peace and de-escalate violence by any legal means.

Why police block Rivers council secretariats

The police boss then lamented the loss of an inspector in the violence in the oil-rich state, saying it was a sad moment and that the force was not ready to lose more of its men.

His statement reads in part:

“We don’t want to lose more Nigerians. We don’t want to lose more citizens of Rivers State. So, we have a duty to prevent the breakdown of law and order."

Rivers: Why Wike is a sleeping lion

Legit.ng earlier reported that Nyesom Wike, the former governor of Rivers state and current minister of the FCT, was described as a sleeping tiger.

Okanlawon Gaffar, an analyst who commented on the political crisis in Rivers, said the former governor could be silent, but that did not mean Fubara had defeated him.

Source: Legit.ng