The Rivers State Police Command has denied sealing off the Rivers State Electoral Commission, RSIEC.
There had been reports that the police had sealed off the RSIEC secretariat in Port Harcourt on the heels of a Federal High Court order halting the local elections billed to hold on October 5.
RSIEC had insisted on proceeding with Saturday’s election, irrespective of the ruling of the Federal High Court halting the exercise.
The police spokesperson in the state, Grace Iringe-Koko, who spoke with journalists in Port Harcourt, described the reports as false.
According to her, some police operatives were stationed at the RSIEC office to safeguard the premises from potential attacks during the nationwide #Feralessin October protests yesterday in Port Harcourt.
“The police presence at the facility is strictly for security and not to interfere with the electoral process,” Iringe-Koko, a police superintendent,said.
She enjoined newsmen to always verify every information before rushing to publish it to prevent spreading falsehood, also adding that no protester was assaulted during the protest in Rivers.
While Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his loyalists want the elections to go on, former governor of Rivers and now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike and his loyalists want are opposed to holding the polls.
The Minister of FCT, Mr Wike, has been engaged in a protracted fight with Governor Fubara over the control of the political structure in the oil-rich state.
However, Adolphus Enebeli, a retired justice and the RSIEC Chairperson, insists on going ahead with the election despite a ruling by the Federal High Court to the contrary.
He anchored his preparedness for the election on a ruling from the State High Court, which favoured holding the elections.