Armed men, purportedly identified as police officers and suspected political thugs, reportedly invaded the residence of the factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie, in Port Harcourt on Sunday night.
Edison Ehie, formerly the Leader of the State House of Assembly, had declared himself the Speaker amid the crisis that engulfed the state legislature.
This is as 24 lawmakers said they suspended Ehie as House leader, along with two other members.
Details of the attack on Ehie’s residence remain unclear, and it is yet to be confirmed if there were any damages or casualties during the invasion.
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However, reports suggest that his security details successfully thwarted the attack, believed to be an assassination attempt.
A statement signed by Ken Uchendu, identified as the Legislative Correspondent of the State House of Assembly, confirmed and described the attack as an assassination attempt.
The statement alleged that the head of a police tactical unit in the state, accompanied by unidentified others, carried out the attempted assassination.
The statement read, “At about 11 pm on Sunday, November 19, 2023, a group of armed thugs and police officers attached to the CTU B 3 RSV attacked the private residence of the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie, fully armed with an intention to assassinate Mr. Speaker and his family.
“However, the thugs and the police officers were vehemently repelled in a gun battle by the official security details attached to the Speaker.
“It is imperative to note that the armed rogues and officers were properly and fully captured by CCTV footage in the residence, which shall be made available to all media houses, including CNN, Aljazeera and other national and international media outlets for the records.
“Let it be on record that Rivers people, boys, girls, women, men including the aged shall in our numbers occupy the streets naked in demonstration against the Nigerian Police and those sponsoring violence in Rivers State, no matter how highly placed, Rivers people will resist them.
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“Finally, should there be a breakdown of law and order in Rivers State, President Bola Tinubu should hold the Rivers State Police Command and their sponsors in Rivers State responsible.”
The spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, has not comment on the development.