...Accuse Solad, Rivers CP of abuse of power

Women in Rivers state have called for immediate termination of the emergency rule imposed on the state by the federal government.

The women under the umbrella of the Rivers Women Unite Prayer Group maintained that the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the state legislature to impose a Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), has exposed the ulterior and politically motivated intentions behind the emergency rule.

Expressing their disenchantment with the current state of Rivers, the women in a statement signed by Dr. Nancy Chidi Nwankwo and Dr. Vivian Ige-Elenwo, accused Ibas and the State Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju of abuse of power against residents opposed to the emergency rule.

The statement reads, \"One month after assuming control, rather than fostering reconciliation among the political stakeholders, Vice Admiral Ibas has deepened the divide. The Sole Administrator\'s actions of dismantling democratic institutions and orchestrating policies aimed at achieving political domination serve only the interests of those who appointed him.

\"Women of Rivers firmly reject every attempt to stifle voices of our people or frustrate legitimate dissent. We condemn in strong terms the dictatorial tendencies of Vice Admiral Ibas and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju.

\"On Friday, April 11, 2025, we held a peaceful protest against the injustice meted out to our state. Shockingly, the police responded with force, deploying tear gas and brute intimidation in bid to silence our democratic right to peaceful assembly.

\"Yet, on April 14, 2025, same Sole Administrator Ibas reportedly sponsored a counter-protest, hiring thugs to masquerade as Rivers women in support of the illegal state of emergency, an act that was shamefully protected by the same CP who had earlier brutalized real Rivers women for peacefully speaking out.\"

Highlighting the negative impact on the populace, the statement noted, \"This deliberate provocation and double standard is nothing short of sabotage and the quashing of democratic rights.

\"The economic impact of this ill-conceived emergency rule is already evident. Businesses are shutting down, planned investments are being relocated and the state’s economy is in free fall. As always, it is our women and children who bear the brunt of this upheaval and economic hardship.\"

The angry women who trooped out in their thousands protested along streets and major roads in Port Harcourt passing through the Government House main entrance and called on all \"Nigerians of conscience, civil society groups, and particularly the National Assembly, to continue to speak out against this impunity and urgently act to reverse this deeply unpopular decision.

\"It is disturbing to note that in many truly volatile regions of Nigeria, where communities are under siege by terrorists and where lives are being lost daily, the federal government has neither declared a state of emergency, suspended the governor or deployed adequate security forces.

\"Yet, in Rivers State, over 10,000 police personnel and countless military operatives have been deployed — not for security, but for political intimidation under the guise of emergency rule.

\"Just this Monday, women protesting against the emergency rule in Mbiama were again tear-gassed and brutalized, while another group of women who sang praises of the emergency rule were shielded and escorted by the police. This selective protection of sycophants while repressing genuine voices of concern is a grave injustice.\"

They demanded the immediate removal of the Rivers CP, Adepoju, total end to the illegal state of emergency imposed on Rivers, full restoration of all democratic institutions, including reinstatement of the duly elected Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara.

They further asked for, \"Redeployment of military personnel to regions where they are truly needed, where citizens are being slaughtered and communities being ravaged by terrorists.

\"Our beloved nation is teetering dangerously toward becoming a banana republic. This dissent must be halted, and Nigeria must be rescued from political tyranny and systemic impunity.

\"We call on the international community to take firm stand, to intervene diplomatically and to prevail on Nigerian government to restore democracy and protect rights and dignity of the people of Rivers. Our people deserve peace, justice, and the freedom to thrive in a truly democratic society.\"

Chikodi Okpara 
Communications - RWUS