Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, is far from impressed with the way democracy is being treated in Nigeria. He has now called on African lawyers to help revive democracy in the country, blaming the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as the ones behind the issue and claiming they used the police to destroy its foundation.

Not stopping there, Wike also accused the police of promoting crime in Nigeria, saying,
“most of the kidnapping in the country are done by the police.”

The Nigerian police command however responded to the governor’s accusations promptly describing the statement as deceitful.

Speaking with Premium Times, Police spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood said:
“Everybody knows the antics of Governor Wike,”
“You people should disregard such statements. The Nigeria Police are not promoting any crime. In fact, we are fighting crime with all the resources at our disposal”.

“I want people to disregard such statement we have made a lot of progress in terms of fighting crime and criminality.”

Via a press statement by the state government, Mr. Wike, it was alleged that APC was already laying the structures to rig the 2019 general elections through the promotion of indicted police officers. This was made known at a state banquet in Port Harcourt on Monday night.

Mr. Wike said despite Akin Fakorede, the Rivers State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) commander, being caught rigging election and beating up elect0ral officials, he was still promoted.

He continued saying the police also promoted an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Steven Hasso, “for his criminal role in the rigging of rerun elections on December 10, 2016.
“They promised Nigerians change, but we are seeing nothing. The former President of Tanzania by his visit has done us much good by his presence in Nigeria. Through him, we will send a message to the world.
“Democracy in Nigeria is gone. By 2019, nobody should talk about democracy. One Mr Akin Fakorede who was caught on video rigging election has been promoted. Stephen Hasso who was also a culprit in the rigging of elections has been promoted. Both of them are to be positioned in Rivers State for 2019 to help the APC rig elections.”

Moshood responded to these allegations again saying:
“I am not aware of any promotion like that,” he said.

“Promotion is not done by the IGP of the Nigeria Police Force, it is done by the Police Service Commission. And to the best of my ability the commission has not released any list of promoted officers. Anything that has to do with promotion, the commission is in charge.”

Speaking further, Mr. Wike claimed the APC has made it a policy to intimidate and destroy the judiciary.
“The police is the one promoting crime in Nigeria. Most of the kidnapping in the country are done by the police. We cannot continue like this, enough is enough.”

Efforts by our reporter to reach the APC spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, were unsuccessful as his phone was switched off at the time of filling this story.