Former Commissioner of Police, Mbu: I Stopped Political Assassination in Rivers

Mr. Joseph Mbu

– We will thwart Wike’s governorship ambition, says Amaechi

Ernest Chinwo 

Former Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu, has said one of his achievements in the state was to stop political assassinations.

He also said those who were rejoicing with his redeployment to the Federal capital Territory, Abuja, would soon seek his return to the state because his successor, Tunde Ogunsakin, is also a professional policeman who would not succumb to manipulations by anybody.

Mbu spoke yesterday when he led the new Rivers state commissioner of Police, Ogunsakin, on a courtesy visit to the supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, in Port Harcourt.

He also debunked allegations by the Rivers State Government and the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he was a stooge of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that he carried out his duties professionally and refused to be manipulated by anybody.

Mbu said he was leaving the state with his head high because “in the past one year, Rivers state under my command did not record any political killing”, adding that he carried out his job in the state with diligence and in consonance with the professional ethics.

“I did not come here with a script as alleged by few propagandists. I have discharged my duties with diligence and for the past one year, there has not been any political assassination in Rivers state. Our sworn allegiance to the Nigeria Police Force must be upheld at all times,” he said.

Mbu advised the new commissioner of police to be wary of tinted SUV cars with Rivers State Government registration numbers as they were likely to be “agents of assassination”.

“I put them (agents of assassination) in check for one year and I advised the new CP to be careful with them”, Mbu said. He described the array of politicians who gathered in Wike’s Port Harcourt residence to receive them as the real people that own Rivers State.

“Those who are making noise all over the place are about three per cent. The 97 per cent are the people here. The ‘Who is Who’ in Rivers State are the people here,” he said.

On his part, Ogunsakin said he would build on the successes recorded by Mbu. “Mbu has done very well in keeping the crime rate low in the state. All I have to do is to sustain it and further reduce crime in the state,” Ogunsakin said.

He disclosed that he was consulting with critical stakeholders to explain his mission in the state and promised to be fair to all and maintain law and order in the state.

“We want people to move around without fear or harassment; we want to ensure peace so that elections and electioneering will be peaceful and smooth,” Ogunsakin said.

He reiterated that the ban placed on political rallies remained in force and that political activities should be guided by the Electoral Act, adding that any political gathering in the state must get police clearance five days before the event.

In his response, the Minister of education, Wike, promised the cooperation and support of the PDP and that of its members across the state.

Wike explained that PDP would look at the laws to decide whether the ban by the police was in line with the law, saying that as a law-abiding political party, the PDP would not do anything that would impact negatively on the state. He said even though Mbu was leaving the state, he was able to restore the integrity of the police in the state.

Wike said, “We will give you all the support you will require to make your job successful. There was a time when police was used to intimidate and arrest people in this state until we had to go to court to seek redress before we could hold political meetings.

“Those of us in the GDI and PDP can testify that Mbu had refused to give us permit to hold our rallies but because we do not have money as they do to go to the press, members of the public did not know about this.

“I have never met Mbu in my life. The propaganda by the other people (APC) that he was acting the script written to him by me was most unfortunate. You cannot influence Mbu in any way. That is why Rivers people protested the plan to redeploy him from the state.

“Let me appeal to you, the new CP to please ensure that lives and property in the state are well protected. Those of us who live in Abuja will not want to be afraid of coming home because of one crisis or the other. That is why we promised to give the Police our maximum support,” Wike added.

In the courtesy call were the national Vice Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus; state Chairman of the PDP, Felix Obuah; Dr. Abiye Sekibo; minister designate, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, Chief Sergeant Awuse; Chief Maxwell Tasie; among many others. 

Meanwhile,  Rivers State Governor,  Chibuike Amaechi, has said he would thwart the ambition of the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, to take over from him as governor in 2015.
Amaechi spoke yesterday at the Thanksgiving Service of Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe, at St. Barth’s Anglican Church, Bera, in Gokhana Local Government Area.

The governor also said Wike was not fit to be Minister of Education, as he lacked the intellectual capacity to handle that sector.

He disclosed that he nominated Wike for a ministerial appointment even though there were many better qualified people from Rivers State, because he wanted an Ikwerre man, his kinsman, to at least be made a minister.