Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, has revealed that he has intelligence indicating that there have been five attempts on his life in barely one year.
In an e-mailed statement to The Trent on Monday, April 10, 2017, Austin Tam-George, the Rivers commissioner of information and communication, described as “callous and insensitive”, recent denials by the Police that the governor’s life was at risk.
“It is no secret that the APC government declared war on the government and people of Rivers State, soon after the party lost the governorship litigation at the Supreme Court in 2016”, the commissioner wrote, adding that the first attempt to kill the governor was made immediately after the Supreme Court verdict.
Dr Tam-George said the governor’s chief security officer was removed without any explanation, and that the six police officers dismissed by the Nigeria Police Force in January this year played a key role in foiling the series of attempts to kill Wike.
The commissioner further disclosed that after several attempts to assassinate Wike had failed, an offer of one hundred and fifty million Naira was made to two of the six dismissed police officers, to directly kill the governor, but that the officers declined the offer.
“We call on the Interpol and the International Labour Organisation, ILO, to lead an independent inquiry into why those gallant and patriotic officers were dismissed from the Nigeria Police Force, on spurious charges of misconduct,” Dr. Tam- George said.
The commissioner said that as part of its preparations to seize Rivers State in the 2019 elections, the central APC government was already considering a range of escalatory measures against Wike and some key leaders in Rivers state.
