Following the swearing-in of new council chairmen by Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, thugs has set fire to 5 local government area secretariats, escalating the political instability in Rivers State.
The strikes began at 11 a.m. on Monday, with Eleme Local Government Area being one of the first targets. The thugs set fire to parts of the secretariat, pledging to deny the freshly sworn-in chairman access to his office. Thugs protesting the legitimacy of Saturday’s elections set fire to the chairman’s office at the Ikwerre Local Government Secretariat in Isiokpo.
In a more violent event in Emohua, a group of adolescents invaded the council office shortly after the newly sworn-in chairman, David Omereji, installed his deputy, Patient Ebere, and 14 councillors. The attackers allegedly detonated explosives, thought to be dynamite, inflicting substantial damage to the structure and breaking everything on the premises.
These attacks came after the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, ordered security staff to leave the council gates.
