Politics
APC crisis: Youths chase judges, others out of court
Suspected thugs broke into the premises of a high court in Port Harcourt on Friday, vandalizing vehicles, chasing away the judges, lawyers and preventing the court from sitting.
National Daily gathered that a 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, accusing Amaechi of hijacking the process and preventing those loyal to the senator from purchasing forms required for contesting the ward election.
But Amaechi said the exercise held peacefully.
It was during this process that the thugs invaded the court, locking up the main gate of the court after chasing everybody out.
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 phony 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 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.”
Last week, one person was killed after supporters of the APC leaders clashed at the party secretariat in Port Harcourt.
