Port Harcourt — Heavy gunshots and violence, yesterday, disrupted a visit by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to demand for the Certified True Copies (CTC) of the March 18 election result sheets.
Thugs believed to be loyal to the PDP would later attack the APC secretariat in the state and in the process, descended on the APC governorship candidate, Tonye Cole, who has since alleged threat to his life, after he was reportedly roughened up by the thugs.
The APC, led by Cole, had Friday, said it would storm the INEC office on Monday to demand release of the CTC documents used for the election to enabled the party file petitions at the election tribunal.
As at 8am yesterday, while the APC members were planning to get to INEC office, supporters of PDP with placards had already barricaded the area, chanting that the INEC officials should release CTC documents to them too.
THISDAY, which was a witness to the incidents, reported that immediately Cole in company with the state APC Chairman, Emeka Beke, and other party leaders arrived the GRA axis of Aba Road and were proceeding to the INEC office, some thugs accosted them, and tried to deny them access to the INEC office.
At this point, there were releases of gunshots, while some protesting youths raced towards Cole's direction, throwing stones and water sachets at him.
Security operatives attached to Cole immediately shielded him and whisked him into his waiting vehicle, but the violent protesters continued throwing sachet water at the direction of other APC members at the scene, and in the process, one person, sustained gunshot injury after being hit by a stray bullet either from the police trying to scare the protesters or the thugs wielding arms, too.
The area was later condoned-off by anti-riot policemen, soldiers and NSCDC personnel to forestall any further breakdown of law and order.
THISDAY further gathered that the APC state secretariat in GRA, Port Harcourt was attacked by thugs, who were escorted by men on police uniform. The thugs destroyed the party's flags at the entrance gate, vehicles parked in front of the their office, including vehicles belonging to the deputy governorship candidate and state party chairman, Emeka Beke.
However, lamenting threat to his life by the thugs, Cole, who spoke to THISDAY at the protest scene, claimed the thugs were working for the PDP and had threatened to kill him.
He explained that they were at the INEC office to demand the release of the CTC documents with no knowledge that the PDP was protesting at the area. He said on getting near to the INEC office, some suspected hoodlums stopped them, allegedly forcing them back, while throwing some harmful objects on them.
He however, demanded the intervention of security operatives for his safety and members of APC in the state, stating that the INEC national office should get the documents for them as soon as possible to enable the party approach the election petition tribunal.
His words: "I only went to the INEC office with my deputy governor, party chairman, woman leader and youth leader. We were not armed but our security men who were there with us. They did some raking and came back to tell us that the thugs were fully armed. They are the ones shooting.
"When we left the INEC area, we retreated back to our office, suddenly, we saw the thugs coming to our secretariat shooting and our security men tried to stop them from accessing our party secretariat but in the presence of policemen that escorted them, they destroyed our flags, throwing stones, threw canister into our office, destroyed our vehicles.
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"There is a section of the police they called Wike's Police from Wike Police station that attacked our secretariat. The same people that arrested our lawyers were those that led the thugs to attack our party secretariat."
Asked if they would return to the INEC office for the documents, Cole said, "INEC National must insist that those documents without being tampered must be released. Now, if they are not going to release it here, they will either put it in a bullion van and send to me or they will carry it to Abuja, but INEC cannot deny us those documents."
On his part, Beke, said the attack on the party was a shame to democracy and security in the state, saying, "It's alarming that we have right to go and ask for certain document from INEC, give us our agent pin copy. And when we got there, what we saw were hoodlums, Ikwerre Local Government Chairman, Deputy Speaker of House of Assembly in the state attacked us."
