The crisis rocking the River
state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) took a new turn on Friday
as lawyers, judges and litigants were chased out of a high court in Port
Harcourt, the state capital.
The group headed by Magnus Abe,
senator representing Rivers south east, had gone to the court to seek an
injunction restraining the faction under Rotimi Amaechi, minister of
transportation, from holding local government congress of the party on
Saturday.
Abe had alleged that there was no
congress across the 319 wards in the state but Amaechi said the exercise held
peacefully.
Last week, one person was killed
after supporters of the APC leaders clashed at the party secretariat in Port
Harcourt.
Abe supporters had accused
Amaechi of hijacking the process and preventing those loyal to the senator from
purchasing forms required for contesting the ward election.
Abe had called on the leadership
of the party to intervene in the crisis.
But the battle moved to the court
on Friday as suspected thugs broke into the premises, vandalising vehicles,
chasing away the judges, lawyers and preventing the court from siting.
Before leaving the intruders
locked up the main gate of the court.
Hours after the disorderliness,
Nyesom Wike, governor of the state, stormed the court with some of his
supporters.
The supporters of the governor
broke the locked doors as they went round inspecting the havoc wreaked by the
suspects.
On Thursday, Chris Finebone,
spokesman of the APC in Rivers, issued a statement, saying there was an attempt
to use the court to stop the local government congress scheduled for Saturday.
“Information reaching us
indicates that some individuals posing as members of the All Progressives
Congress, APC, in Rivers state have approached a Rivers state high court to
seek injunction against the holding of local government and subsequent
Congresses in Rivers state,” the statement read.
“It has also come to our notice
that the same impostors have procured a lawyer to represent the APC in the
phoney matter they surreptitiously brought before a court. By this notice, the
All Progressives Congress, APC, Rivers state chapter, is hereby notifying the
Rivers state and federal judiciaries and the general public that at no time was
the APC served any court process and at no time did the APC secure the services
of any counsel to handle such a matter in any court.
“The attempt at claiming a
non-existing court matter and the alleged appearance of a counsel on behalf of
the APC with briefing by the party is manifestly false, criminal and should be
disregarded and such persons arrested and prosecuted accordingly.
“The APC re-iterates that any
court or persons dealing with any such unauthorised person(s) do so at their
own risk as the Rivers State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, has
neither been served any court process nor briefed any lawyer to deal on any such
matter on the party’s behalf whatsoever.”
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