Appeal Court Judgement Has Confirmed Police, INEC Collusion in Election Rigging, Says Wike

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that the outcome of the litigation on the Rivers East Senatorial District Seat has confirmed the alarm he raised that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and police were in partnership to rig elections in the state.

He also stated that the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) only launches campaign of calumny against the Judiciary when they lose cases, but applaud them each time they emerge victorious.

Speaking during a stakeholders meeting with leaders of Okirika and Ogu-Bolo Local Government Areas at the Government House, Port Harcourt, yesterday, Wike said: “Now that we have lost, nobody is saying that the Judiciary is corrupt. They are not saying that the Judiciary is corrupt because they have won.

“Tomorrow if we win, they will say Judiciary is corrupt. Then they will send security operatives to arrest the judges. Nobody will bother to go now and arrest the judges to find out what happened”.

The governor expressed regret that when the Chief Justice of Nigeria visited the state to flag off the construction of the State Judges Quarters, the APC went to town, claiming that the PDP would procure all judgments at the courts.

He noted: “But now, you will not see them claiming that the judgment was procured. I urge you to continue to have confidence in the Judiciary”.

Wike asserted that police colluded with APC to tender concocted results at the tribunal, which were relied upon to sack Senator George Thompson Sekibo.

He said: “Remember, last year, I raised an alarm that INEC and Police were planning to rig the rerun elections. We caught people printing INEC result sheets and reported the matter. Somebody was arrested. They sent the person to Zone 6 Calabar and granted him bail. Till now, they are yet to complete investigations into that critical matter.