More Killings In River-State Wike Chief Of Staff Arrested

The increase of the violence that ruined the poll in some areas of Rivers state on Saturday, led the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, escaped death by a whisker on Sunday when a group of gunmen opened fire on his vehicle.

A few of the results of the National and State Assembly rerun, held on Saturday, were released on Sunday with the PDP leading the APC in the areas that have been collated.

While Peterside was lucky to have escaped death, his orderly, Emma Esi, was cut down by the bullets of the assailants.

Also, the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, who spoke with newsmen in Port Harcourt on Sunday, alleged that the Personal Assistant to his Chief of Staff was killed by security operatives.

He said, “My Chief of Staff called me and said that they shot his PA and as we speak with you, he is dead.”

It was gathered that Peterside’s vehicle was also conveying the Rivers Chairman of the APC, Dr. Davies Ikanya, and a former House of Reps member, Honourable Asita, when the incident happened.

Peterside was said to have been trailed by the gunmen, a development that forced his driver to make a detour to the office of the Department of State Services located at Forces Avenue, Old GRA, Port Harcourt.

It was learnt that Peterside decided to move to the DSS office to escape from the suspected assailants, who were said to have followed his vehicle to the office.

The gunmen were said to have fired sporadically for about 35 minutes, a development that scared motorists and passersby on the Forces Avenue area of the state.

Peterside, in a statement in Port Harcourt, said, “Two Jeeps belonging to Emeka Woke, Nyesom Wike’s Chief of Staff, carrying two unknown gunmen, trailed us to UTC Junction and opened fire on my car. Our car, however, did a detour to the DSS office gate, where we drove to seek refuge but the unknown gunmen opened fire again on the SSS men on guard.

“The exchange of fire between the DSS men and the assailants lasted for more than 30 minutes. This is a very ugly experience but I thank God that my colleagues and I escaped unhurt. Today’s experience is not only terrifying but also shows the parlous state of security in Rivers State.

“If I can be engaged openly by gunmen for nearly an hour in the heart of Port Harcourt, only God knows the fate that will befall members of our party and those sympathetic to our predicament. What is happening today in our dear state is not only horrible, but also constitutes serious national security risk.”