RIVERS CRISIS Day 2 UPDATES: Police Used Tear Gas, One Person Arrested + VIDEO and PHOTOS
Some 30 soldiers guarding the Rivers State governor's lodge have been summarily withdrawn by the Brigade commander in charge of the Joint Task Force in Port Harcourt. The action was carried out on the orders of President Goodluck Jonathan, who is currently on a state visit to China.
Sahara Rreporters learnt that the soldiers also took with them two armored personnel cars usually stationed outside the government house. A military source told Sahara Reporters that the removal of the soldiers was done because it was ordered from Abuja. He warned that things might get bloodier in the state capital with the Joint Task Force (JTF) gone from the government house leaving the security of the governor and his aides in the hands of a few police officers and State Security Services agents.
A Reuters witness reports around 2,000 youth from two fractions supporting either President Jonathan or Rivers Governot Amaechi arrived in nearly 30 buses at Port Harcourt. The police struggled to keep the two groups apart until a Joint Task Force composed of both military and police stepped in and fired tear gas to halt the crowd. One man reported to be arrested.
According to Sahara Reporters, supporters of Governor Rotimi Amaechi and the 27 lawmakers on his side met on the grounds about the government house in Rivers State. Several of the supporters mobilized from around the state had been beaten and harassed by the police as they waited to protest against five lawmakers that tried unsuccessfully to remove the substantive speaker yesterday.
It will be reminded that Jonathan and Amaechi have been embroiled in a spat in recent months. The situation worsened after Amaechi was elected head of the National Governor's Forum. President refused to recognize him because of his open opposition to Jonathan allegedly seeking reelection in 2015.
Watch the video and scroll down for photos.
See for yourself what is currently going on in Rivers state. Click the links of the related articles listed below to follow the development of the story.
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| Rivers Crisis – Day 2: Policemen and pro-Amaechi youths… |
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| Rivers Crisis Day 2: Dispersing the crowd… |
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| Rivers Crisis – Day 2: Police shooting tear gas to disperse the crowd |
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