A team of Nigerian Police personnel, yesterday, raided Ogoja Urban, arresting over 30 innocent supporters of Sen Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The team of security men which came all the way from the State Capital, was alleged to be acting on the directive of the State Governor, Ben Ayade.
Sources have said that the police team was drafted from Ogoja, Ikom and Calabar to effect the arrests on trumped up charges of destruction of billboards and obstruction of public peace.
But another source said during the Nortfest (New Yam festival), Ayade ordered that all PDP billboards be brought down in the entire Ogoja Urban, alluding to the fact that indeed the PDP billboards were brought down and under supervision of security operatives.
Some of the people so far arrested are key supporters of Sen. Jarigbe and suporters of other PDP candidates in the north.
Reacting to the hideous political machination, the PDP Chairman, Cross River State, Barr. Vena Ikem said “I have information on the alleged arrest of our supporters by police authorities, yesterday, in Ogoja. The APC and the boys have been stimulating crisis in the hope of using the police force to clamp down on our supporters, especially in the northern senatorial district.”
“Governor Ayade has lost all semblance of credibility amongst our people, but he is desperate to return to the Senate. So we know his game plan depends entirely on utilizing the state security to intimidate voters. How that will work for him remains to be seen,” the PDP State Chairman remarked.
Vena assured PDP supporters and the general public that “we will use all means at our disposal to frustrate such nefarious plans; Ayade and the APC will exhaust themselves before time because we will follow up all their shenanigans,” avowing that “Nigeria is still a country. of law and order.”
Confirming the arrests, the Police Public Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, said: “Yes, I am aware of the Police arrests in Ogoja. They arrested them in connection with alleged destruction of APC billboards. When they bring the suspects, we would screen them and fish out the culprits and those innocent would be feeed and those found culpable would be charged to Court.
“The Police frown at destruction of billboards and we have earlier issued a statement about that.”
