By Sixtus Uket (Calabar)
No fewer than 30 supporters of the Senator representing Cross River North Senatorial District, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogoja Urban have been allegedly arrested by operatives of the state police command.
The suspects were reportedly arrested during a raid of Ogoja Urban, the headquarters of Ogoja local government area of the state yesterday.
Sources said the team of security operatives who came all the way from Calabar, the State Capital, were said to have been “acting on the directive of the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade.”
Reacting to the arrest, the state Chairman of PDP, Hon. Venatius Ikem said: “Yes, I have been getting snippets of information from Ogoja on the alleged arrest of our supporters by the Police authorities as at yesterday, although no official reports yet.”
Hon. Ikem added that: “I hope it’s not true because the APC boys have been simulating crisis in the hope of using the Police to clamp down on our supporters especially in the northern senatorial district.”
He further alleged that “Governor Ayade has lost all semblance of credibility amongst our people but is desperate to return to the Senate. So we know his game plan depends entirely on his ability to utilize state security to intimidate voters. How that will work for him remains to be seen.
“I can assure you that we will use all means at our disposal to frustrate such nefarious plans. Nigeria is still a country of law and order. He will exhaust himself before time because we will follow up all his shenanigans,” the state Chairman of PDP also said.
Speaking on the development, the Senator representing Northern Cross River State, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, said the PDP had earlier petitioned the Police on the vandalism of their billboards and they have not acted on it.
Sources who prefered anonymity told our reporter that the police team were reportedly drafted from Ogoja, Ikom and Calabar to effect the arrests on alleged trumped up charges of destruction of billboards and obstruction of public peace.
Other sources however said during the Nortfest (New Yam festival) the state governor allegedly ordered that all PDP billboards be brought down in the entire Ogoja Urban adding that apparentlyin obedienceto the order, “the PDP billboards were brought down and it was supervised by security operatives.
“Some of the people so far arrested are key supporters of Sen. Jarigbe and supporters of other PDP candidates in the north,” the source also stated.
Contacted, the Cross River State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Irene Ugbo confirmed the arrests.
“Yes, I am aware of the Police arrests in Ogoja. They arrested them in connection with alleged destruction of APC billboards.
“When they bring the suspects, we would screen them and fish out the culprits and those innocent would be freed, and those found culpable would be charged to Court,” Ugbo said.
She noted that, “the Police frown at destruction of billboards and we have earlier issued a statement about that.”
