My Safety No Longer Guaranteed, Amaechi Cries Out

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State yesterday raised the alarm that his life was in danger. He cited the presence of strange policemen and intelligence operatives around his lodges in in Port Harcourt and Abuja without his consent as reason for fears over his safety.

The governor raised the alarm barely 24 hours after four of his colleagues from the North visited him in Port Harcourt and on a day the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan called him her son.

Information Nigeria reports that the First Lady while receiving Bishop God-Do-Well Awomapara, who led a delegation of Niger Delta Bishops to the Presidential Villa on a quest to unravel the mysteries surrounding the Rivers political logjam, said, “Amaechi is my son, I cannot fight him and I cannot kill him. He shouldn’t be used by outsiders against his own blood because this seat is vanity.”
But Amaechi, who raised alarm on the threat to his life in a statement, signed by Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Mr. George Feyii and made available to newsmen, recalled the clandestine deployment of strange policemen and intelligence officers to his lodges in Abuja and Port Harcourt without his involvement which is the practice nationwide.
The statement reads in part: “The Rivers State Government notes with distress what is now an apparent attack on the person of Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
“On Tuesday, two policemen, one of them, Inspector Bawa, reported to the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge at Justice Mohammed Bello Street, Asokoro, FCT Abuja.
“They claimed to have been posted by Nigeria Police Force Headquarters to monitor the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge.

“Earlier, four intelligence officers had been posted to Government House, Port Harcourt by the Rivers State Police Command. These postings were done without any notification or reference to Governor Amaechi.
“We are aware that on issues of personal safety, an official reserves the right to pick the security personnel to whom he may entrust his safety. This is more so in the case of a state governor.
“The policemen insisted on Wednesday morning (yesterday) that they had directives to remain at the gate of the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge.  Not only is the Rivers State Government uncertain of the true identity of these gentlemen, we are worried as to the true intent behind these latest postings.
“In recent times, events in Rivers State and especially around Governor Amaechi have been suggestive of deliberate nonchalance at best, and complicity at worst in the security breaches that have occurred. This trend has continued despite a passionate appeal to the highest levels of authority.
“We are worried that we can no longer guarantee the safety of Governor Chibuike Amaechi and wish to reiterate our call on all relevant authorities to ensure the safety of Governor Amaechi and the peace and security of everyone in Rivers State”, the SSG pleaded.