The violence that erupted last Sunday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State following the shooting of Senator Magnus Abe, spread to his constituency in the Ogoni part of the state, yesterday morning. His kinsmen took to the streets, damaging vehicles and disrupting traffic. Senator Abe, was on Sunday, wounded by alleged rubber bullet the state government said was fired by members of the Nigeria Police, who had gone to disperse supporters of Governor Rotimi Amaechi in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state from holding a rally.
The protesters made of youths, claimed that the shooting of senator Abe was an attempt to stop the Ogoni people from producing a governor for the state in 2015.
Meanwhile, Senator Abe has arrived in London for further treatment. His Media aide, Mr Honour Sirawoo told Vanguard that what he could say was that Senator Abe arrived London safely, and had been admitted in a hospital.
Also, the Senate, yesterday, directed the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar to investigate the attack on Senator Abe, representing Rivers South East.
Similarly, the Save Rivers Movement, has accused the police of telling lies against it, insisting that it notified the Police of the rally in a letter dated January 7, adding that the Police duly acknowledged receipt of the said letter.
The protesters made up of Ogoni youths, in Eleme, Port Harcourt suburb, gathered under the aegis of Ogoni Youth Council, yesterday, blocked Elelenwo Junction, the Petrochemical and Refinery axis of the East West Road in protest over the shooting of Sen. Abe.
A contract staff of Eleme Petrochemicals, resident in neighbouring Akpajo, said: “ The youths gathered as early as 5am. I thought their intention was to take over the East West Road and walk to the heart of Port Harcourt, to register their anger over the threat to the Senator’s life.
“Somehow, their kinsmen in Akpajo blocked them at the Slaughter Bridge, insisting that the protest must not get to their community. In anger, they went on rampage and a lot of motorists were caught in the unrest and had their vehicles damaged before the police came to disperse them.”
Mr Friday Needam, who spoke on the protest, said: “We want people to pray that nothing happens to Abe because Ogoni people will no longer allow any Ogoni man slaughtered like Saro-Wiwa and others killed by Federal Government and their agents.”
Another protester, Joseph Barinedam, said that the Police arrested about eight of the protesters and many got injured while running for safety.
“They should be ready to shoot us the way they did to Senator Abe if anything happens to him (Abe),” he added.
A youth leader in the area, who spoke to Vanguard, Mr Isaac Obe, said thousands of women in several communities in Ogoni were pained by the alleged shooting of Senator Abe by the Police. “Our people came out to protest to the world against what happened to Senator Abe. We lost Ken Saro-wiwa to the Federal Government, we do not want to lose another son,” he said.
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