Youths want alleged military invasion of Rivers monarchs’ palaces probed
PUNCH
A coalition of Rivers youths on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, demanding an enquiry into the alleged military invasion of some monarchs’ palaces in the state.
The youths, who also marched to the state secretariat of the Traditional Rulers’ Council, demanded that INEC immediately release the results of the March 9 governorship and State Assembly polls collated from the various wards.
Speaking on behalf of the youths, Chijioke Ihunwo demanded the immediate withdrawal of the military from the state and issued a seven-day ultimatum to the military to release those arrested before, during and after the just concluded elections in the state.
He said, “We are giving the GOC, 6 Division, Port Harcourt, a seven-day ultimatum to release all those that have been arrested by the military.
“For the past two weeks, there have been arrests of youths leaders in the state, before, during and after the elections and many of the arrested persons are detained at Bori Camp.
“For three days, the military has taken over Rivers State and we are hereby calling on the GOC, 6 Division, Rivers State to urgently withdraw his men from the streets of Port Harcourt because we are not in a military era, but in a democratic dispensation.”
Also speaking, the President-General, Sekuro Youths Federation, Maxwell Deinma, expressed the youths’ displeasure over the killings of their colleagues and the destruction of monarchs’ palaces across the state.
Deinma maintained that youths in the state had concluded arrangements to write the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, demanding an investigation into the wanton killings and destruction of properties in the state.
“We are here to inform you (Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers) of the step we are about to take as your children.
“We want to write to the Inspector General of Police to inform through our letter, to tell him that although we may not know those who came to invade our traditional rulers’ palaces in military uniforms, we know those persons that brought them and they are our brothers.”