Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike of Rivers State has dismissed as ‘politically-motivated falsehood’ the allegation that he ordered the killing of Igbo youths in Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state by the military.
Governor Wike said he had no constitutional power to order a military operation, saying the allegation of his involvement was instigated by those who sponsored the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) men to kill security personnel in the area.
He spoke during a live television programme, in Port Harcourt, on Monday.
Governor Wike also defended the curfew imposed on Oyigbo, saying it was to restore calm after IPOB members killed six soldiers, four policemen and destroyed all police stations and court buildings in the community.
The allegation that the Igbo were being killed by the military, Governor Wike said, was intended to shift attention from the despicable activities of IPOB in Oyigbo, which is a boundary area adjoining Abia State.
The governor said, “I know that this is not the first time, IPOB has used Oyigbo as launching ground. The security agencies are aware. IPOB added a new dimension this time. They killed six Army officers and burnt one. They killed four Police officers. They destroyed all the Police Stations and Court Buildings. What offence did we commit as a state?
“I imposed a curfew to restore calm. I proscribed IPOB activities anywhere in the state. Don’t forget that the Federal Government had declared them a terrorist group. It is not the entire Igbo that believes in IPOB activities.
“So, it’s not true that I ordered the military to kill Igbo in Oyigbo. When did I become a friend to the military? So what about the Igbo living elsewhere in the state, are they also being killed?
“I have no relationship with the Army or the Police; I do not command them. They change Commissioners of Police every time. How will I begin to direct the Army that I do not give instructions to?”
Governor Wike lamented IPOB’s audacity to rename a Rivers local government and hoist its flag in a public school in Komkom Town.
“I will not fold my arms and watch criminals destroy my state. If those few criminals are Igbo, then they should know that I will not allow them.
“They made attempt to rename a local government in my state. That alone is a signal. I will not agree to that. I know who is doing all these; who has told them to rise, protest against Wike.”
The governor said his government had no regret against its stance on IPOB, already designated as a terrorist organisation by the Federal Government.
According to him, even the South East governors had never supported IPOB and wondered why a governor from the Niger Delta should tolerate the group.
The governor disclosed that security agencies during the search of some houses in Oyigbo saw shrines with IPOB flags and Nnamdi Kanu’s picture. He stressed that if allowed to operate from Oyigbo, IPOB would overrun the state.
Governor Wike said the state government had begun moves to replace all the property IPOB destroyed during the protest, regretting that the damage had left a huge financial burden on the state.
Besides, the governor said the state had decided to compensate each family of the slain security personnel with N20 million to cater for the welfare of the bereaved widows and their children.
He further said that the #EndSARS protest and its aftermath would have been averted if the Federal Government had not dismissed the alarm he earlier raised in September 2017 on the activities of SARS as mere politics.
“These losses of the aftermath of the protest are unfortunate. Recall that we started the cry against operations of SARS. We asked for reform.
“But they politicised the issue because they used it to kill and intimidate us.
“Here, the minister always used SARS to cause mayhem under the leadership of Akin Fakorede. We suffered a great deal.
“At a time, the entire National Assembly election was cancelled. But we put faith in God who owns the state. We triumphed eventually.”