Rivers re-run elections: Police arrest five suspects, recover 112 ammunition, rifles

*Suspects finger politicians in election violence

*Police: Law enforcement officers connived with politicians to scuttle election

The Nigeria Police Force, yesterday said it has arrested five suspects in connection with the violence experienced during the Rivers State re-run elections of Saturday.

Those arrested have been identified as Noble Nwaerema,  Dike Deinpiribo, Valentine Alalibo, Onwunari J. Warmate and Iloke Stephen.

Exhibits recovered from the suspects are a green INEC branded bag, eight booklets of ballot papers meant for Emohua LGA, one booklet of INEC Accreditation Incident Report Forms, one booklet of statement of results and one blood stained APC agent ID card.

Other items recovered from them area one AK47 rifle, one assault rifle, six magazines and 112 rounds of live ammunitions.

One of the suspects, Nwaerema, 33, was arrested on December 10, by SARS operatives along RumusiElele. He said he was hired by the youth president of Itu-Ikwere community, along with other  men, hired from neighbouring state.

The police said that the men invaded Emouha Local Government and carted away electoral materials meant for polling units within the area. Nwaerema was arrested with some of the exhibits while others are still at large.

Police said that intelligence report revealed that the electoral materials were taken to a government facility and escorted by armed personnel.

The police further said that other suspects, Deinpiribo, Aldibo, Warmate and Stephen belonged to a cult group and are professional political thugs.

The Force Spokesman, Don Awunah, said|: “They claimed their services were engaged by one Hon. Boma GoodHead, who procured two AK47 rifles and commissioned his driver, one Iryo to convey the weapons in his black Toyota Prado jeep and handed same to the suspects at Degema. The suspects are responsible for several armed attacks that took place during the elections in places like Abonnema, Emuoha, Elele, Eteche and Omoku where a police officer was gruesomely killed. The rifles and 112 rounds of ammunitions were recovered from them. Other members of the killer gang fled and detectives are on their trail.”

 Awunah further disclosed that some security personnel were arrested for professional misconduct, actions, inactions, omission and commission that were detrimental to the electoral process. He noted that some of them directly or indirectly connived with some politicians to scuttle the process. A high powered investigative panel is currently looking into this unacceptable professional misconduct.

According to Awunah, the attempt by some major political gladiators in the state to foist violence and trigger an atmosphere of insecurity failed woefully.

Awunah said: “These political gladiators and major stakeholders clandestinely promoted violence and exhibited abuse of power and office. In the course of the re-run election, some suspects who attempted to scuttle the electoral process were arrested and sensitive INEC materials were recovered from them, arms and ammunition inclusive.”