by Dennis Naku
Loyalists of the Rivers State Governor, Siminakayi Fubara and those of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, are on war path over the judicial commission of inquiry into the arson at three local government areas of the state.
The local government secretariats at Ikwerre, Emuoha and Eleme were touched after the local government election conducted by the state government recently.
The commission headed by Justice I. R. Minakiri, on Monday, summoned about 109 persons, including some allies of the FCT Minister, to appear before it as witnesses to the burning of the LG secretariats.
Among Wike’s allies summoned by the panel are the immediate past chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area, Dr Samuel Nwanosike, as well as his counterparts in Eleme and Ahead East, Obarilomate Ollor and Hope Ikiriko, respectively.
Reacting to the development, Olaka Nwogu said the summon was selective, insisting that it should be holistic.
Nwogu, who represented the Rivers South-East District in the National Assembly said such a panel ought to also look into the explosion at the state House of Assembly last year.
He stated, “All I know is the fact that there were some incidents in Rivers State and the governor said he was setting up a panel.
“Something like that needs to be holistic. That should also cover the state assembly that was bombed, the local government secretariats and every other form of violence or condemnable atrocities.
“But, more importantly, I think the minister of the FCT gave a very, very insightful comment in his interview on Channels, when he said the governor says he knows the people. I think that sums it up.
“The governor said it was the handiwork of his enemies. And then the minister said, ‘What you do when you know those who do something like that is to ask the police to arrest or prosecute them’.
“So, if this is a way of leaving those you know to bring those you don’t know, well, I don’t know. But, it does appear that this is that the governor already knows the people who committed the act.
*So, what is the essence of a panel if it is a waste of public resources? You know the people who did it, arrest, prosecute them, charge them for arson, charge them for whatever vandalism or any crimes they have committed. That way we can make progress.”
He further said, “But I think it undermines the process when a judge is also the accuser in his own court, because the person who will approve the white paper is the governor, the person who is accusing is the governor, and the person who appointed the panel is the governor.
“The whole process of the delivery of justice is seriously tainted because everybody is aware of the polarisation in the state, and it’s easier to use this as a vendetta, a tool for vendetta, or to call, to claim certain people to be guilty of certain things and take advantage of it.
“It is selective too. Those are just my personal concerns. Otherwise, we should safeguard our public property. And we should protect it.”
While noting that there should be a good reason to ensure people did not take laws into their own hands and vandalise public property, Nworgu said, “It should be a neutral body that is not politically exposed to undo such a thing, especially when there is a political dispute. I think it’s left for the people to decide how they feel.”
Reacting to his invitation, Ollor described the panel as an act of political vendetta.
Ollor, a former Vice Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, Rivers State chapter, said he would make appropriate consultations in that regard.
He stated, “The most important thing is that, of course, I just see that as a political vendetta. I don’t know what they are talking about. We’ll do our proper consultations to know what to do next.”
The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joseph Johnson, disagreed with the position of Wike allies, saying the right thing to do was to first appear before the panel if invited, rather than throwing punches.
Johnson said, “I would expect that he (Ollor) should be man enough to go the judicial panel of inquiry and ventilate.
“If he and others go there and say what they know or they don’t, they would have freed themselves.
“But you cannot sit back and begin to throw punches at a commission that is statutorily put together and headed by a respected judge of the High Court.
“That panel is expected to look at what happened in the various LGAs where they also reside.
‘Onarilomate Ollor was a local government chairman of Eleme, at least he should be able to give an account of what happened. He is an Eleme son and that property belongs to the Eleme people.
“He should appear and tell them what he knows and then end it there. The panel will take it from there.
“To the other council chairmen, I mean, my mother of blessed memory tells me that nobody pursues anyone that is not holding the ball.
“If you go and watch football, they pursue those holding football. So once the ant is trying to form, know that there is a wood.
“They should go and answer. If they don’t want to answer, there is a precursor to it.”
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