Civil society organizations (CSOs) in Rivers State say they will occupy the Government House if a federal lawmaker arrested on the orders of Governor Nyesom Wike is not released by noon on Friday.
Hon. Farah Dagogo was arrested by the police after the governor accused him of hiring cultists to disrupt the State House of Assembly and National Assembly primary elections of the People’s Democratic Party in Port Harcourt.
But the spokesman of the CSOs, Solomon Lenu told Nigeria Info that Hon. Dagogo’s arrest is baseless.
“We do not know who is going to be the next. We have not been able to find any legal or genuine reason why the member representing Bonny/Degema would be arrested,” he said.
We are very sad and we are not going to take this lightly. We’re going to monitor events from now till 12 noon tomorrow (Friday) and if Dr. Farah Dagogo is not given back his freedom, the Rivers State civil society will have no option than to mobilise the people of Rivers State and picket the government house of Rivers State because we must not continue to go to slumber while the hard-fought democracy that our forebears fought for is trampled upon,” he continued.
Mr. Lenu said CSOs have a duty to protect Nigeria’s democracy and its structures.
The CSOs spokesman also called on the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Eboka Friday to explain why his men would carry out the orders of Governor Wike on “flimsy charges” without proper investigation.
Hon. Dagogo had earlier declared his interest in running for governor of Rivers State.
