2019 elections: Army blames Wike for killing of solders in Rivers

The Nigerian Army has blamed Governor Nyesom Wike for causing
the killing of three soldiers in River State during the 2019
general elections.

Security men attached to the governor were accused of shooting
at soldiers stationed at the collation centre in the Obio Akpor
Local Government Area of Rivers State during the 2019 elections,
leaving three of them dead and one injured.

The General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, Nigerian Army,
Maj.-Gen. Jamil Sarham, made the allegation when he appeared before
the House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee investigating the
alleged killing of employees of the Independent National Electoral
Commission, Dr Ferry Gberegbe and Mrs Ibisaki Amachree, during the
elections.

The House had on April 11, 2019, resolved to carry out the probe
following the adoption of a motion by Mr Kingsley Chinda, blaming
the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police and
the Nigerian Army for the killing of Gberegbe and Amachree.

At the hearing, Sarham said soldiers deployed for electoral
exercise in Rivers particularly those deployed in the collation
centre, acted professionally in the face of provocation by those
allegedly sponsored by the state.

The GOC said soldiers were also killed during the elections,
including one Lieutenant Kurumi who was killed on February 23 and
three other soldiers who were killed on March 2.

He said, “The soldiers who were at the outer cordon are supposed
to stop anybody coming to either harm the voters or disrupt the
polling (exercise). So, when Kurumi tried to enforce that, unknown
to him, there were other people with different agenda and they
snuffed life out of him.

“At the outer cordon three soldiers lost their lives. May be
since you didn’t refer to it, Lieutenant Salami currently is on
life support at Cedar Crest. No less person than the Executive
Governor of Rivers State led a convoy of more than 40 vehicles to
attack a collation centre and shot at Salami, manhandled Corporal
Abiodun; these you can verify. That was at the Obio Akpor Local
Government Area, at the collation centre there. We have laid this
complaint to the police and it is well-documented. The Commissioner
of Police is here and, he can testify to it.”

Earlier, Chairman of the committee, Rimande Shawulu, said the
lawmakers had visited Rivers where they met with Wike, chairmen of
the LGAs and other stakeholders.

He said, “We spent two days taking testimonies. We have the
presentation of the two of them; the governor and the (INEC)
Commissioner whose house was invaded. What really happened in the
case of Dr. Ferry Gberegbe?”

Responding, Sarham said, “Operation Save Conduct is designed to
assist the Nigeria Police and INEC to conduct 2019 election.

“So, arrest or whatsoever, anytime it was made, the suspects
were usually transferred to the civil police.”

The hearing however took a dramtic turn when a member of the
committee from Rivers, Boma Goodhead, accused the army of telling
lies about military operations during the polls.

Wiping off the tears on her face, she said, “What took place in
Rivers State during the elections and other places were done by the
Nigerian Army and SARS, and nobody should deny this because we saw
them.”

But the GOC said, “Nobody was arrested apart from the people who
were directly responsible for the killing of Lieutenant Kurumi.
There were actually people in Rivers State who were responsible for
the killing of an officer and three soldiers during that
election.”

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