According to the report from the Vanguard, Loyalists to Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State and supporters of State House of Assembly member, Sokari Goodboy, are contemplating a peaceful protest in Abuja following the arrest and detention of the lawmaker.
According to reports, Hon Goodboy was apprehended by police officers outside the venue of the People’s Democratic Party National Executive Committee (PDP NEC) meeting in Abuja last week.
Members of the ‘Simplified Movement’ within the PDP from Ahoada West Local Government Area have accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of orchestrating the arrest. They have given a 24-hour ultimatum to Wike to secure the immediate release of the Ahoada West Constituency representative.
Another prominent figure detained alongside the legislator was Ezebunwo Ichemati, a PDP stalwart and supporter of Governor Fubara of Rivers State. A video circulating online features a woman claiming to be part of Governor Fubara’s media team, alleging that the arrests were made on the instruction of a local government chairman in Rivers State who aligns with Wike.
Addressing the press over the weekend, former State Commissioner of Urban Development, Dr. Reason Onya, and leader of the group stressed the need for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene. Onya urged the President to request the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to release Goodboy, asserting that the detained lawmaker had not committed any wrongdoing.
“We call on His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, a renowned dogged democrat, to immediately call for the release of our State House of Assembly representative, Hon. Sokari Goodboy Sokari from detention. He has committed no crime to warrant his humiliating and Gestapo-like arrest in our view. We implore that Abuja, our Nation’s Pride and Center of Unity, should not be transformed into a despotic Federal Capital Territory,” Onya stated.
Onya further demanded a thorough inquiry into the arrests and emphasized the need to identify and sanction the individuals shown in the viral video believed to have instigated the arrests in accordance with the provisions of the Police Act 2020.
“The IGP should leverage the authority of his esteemed office to identify the civilian(s), notably the chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, captured in the footage, involved in this condemnable act,” Onya added.
He cautioned against causing harm to the lawmaker, highlighting that failure to release him would result in legal action being pursued.
