‘Amaechi Exaggerated the Insecurity in Rivers’
Hon. Vincent Nemieboka is the Rivers State Liaison Officer in Abuja. In this interview with Damilola Oyedele, he spoke on the curious decision of Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, to grant amnesty to some wanted criminals in Rivers. Excerpts:
Afew days ago, the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha declared amnesty for some suspected criminals, who have been declared wanted by security agents in Rivers State. How would you describe this gesture?
It does not make sense. It is crazy. Omoku in Ogba Egbema Adoni Local Government in Rivers State has been the epicenter of cultism in the state, with lots of reports of killings in the last one year. The killings got to a climax with the cold blooded murder of 23 persons on New Year’s Day as they were returning from church. The Rivers State Government, in response and in conjunction with the security agents, declared the mastermind wanted and eventually, the security agents killed him: (Don Wanny) and also his younger brother, who was his second in command.
The security agents declared 32 persons wanted and to encourage people to provide information that would assist the arrest of these criminals, Rivers State Government placed a N20 million bounty on each of them. That is N640 million, which the state government was willing to part with, so that the people of Omoku and the entire state would enjoy peace and security.
Now, for Rochas or the government of Imo State to turn around to grant the same people amnesty is simply outrageous. First, the crime for which he is granting them amnesty was committed in Rivers State. Not in Imo State. Second, they were not declared wanted by the Imo State Government, so on what basis is the Government of Imo State granting them amnesty?
So if Rochas is granting them amnesty and security agents in Imo State are supervising this amnesty programme, it becomes curious how the same organisations in one state can declare persons wanted, and the same organisations in another state, will supervise the granting of amnesty for crimes committed in another state.
The answer is simple: it should be recalled that Governor Wike had raised the alarm that the APC federal government was arrang- ing to grant amnesty to these criminals to undermine the security of lives and properties in Rivers State. Is this amnesty granted by Imo State Governor not a confirmation of the fears of the Rivers State Governor?
What if the gang has been terrorising Imo State?
That I do not know but in the course of accepting the amnesty, these cultists clearly said they were Don Wanny’s boys. It means they are the same people whom Rivers State Government placed a bounty on. These are people, who are known to be residing and terrorising people in Rivers tate. So how come Rochas Okorocha is granting them amnesty in Imo State. Worse still, the Governor of Imo State didn’t even have the courtesy of showing empathy to Rivers people for their loss on the 1st of January, 2018.
But what are the implications of the gesture from Imo on the state?
It would create unnecessary tension between the two states, between people that have enjoyed good neighbourliness. The two states share common boundaries and some of the people of both states share common heritage. For instance, there are Egbema people in Rivers State and in Imo State. There has been no tension in the relationship between these states. But what Rochas Okorocha is doing will precipitate tension at the highest level of governance of the two States. Today, the Governor of Rivers State is clearly disagreeing with the actions of Governor Rochas, because of the grave security implications on the state.
What could be the motive of the federal government in simply granting amnesty to suspected criminals, as you claimed the governor said?
Over the years, Governor Wike has been informing Nigerians about the desire of some unscrupulous people to instigate the federal government to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State. Governor Wike has also said several efforts had been made to instigate insecurity in Rivers State. The Imo State Governor is obviously doing this in collaboration with the federal government to pursue a partisan agenda in Rivers State.