Rivers police drags 37 electoral suspects to court

Rivers State Police Command has taken those arrested during the last elections to two courts in Port Harcourt, to dispel rumours making the rounds.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ahmad Muhammad, said the attention of the state command was drawn to the rumours making the rounds that the suspects arrested during the re-run elections in Rivers State had been freed.

He said to put the records straight; it was pertinent to state that 37 suspects comprising 35 males and two females were arrested from different parts of the state on the allegations of criminal or electoral offences or both. “All suspects have been arraigned before magistrate courts 4 and 6, Port Harcourt on different days. In essence, none of the suspects was allowed to go free. The Command is presently in consultation with relevant agencies so as to diligently prosecute the cases that will ultimately lead to conviction of the suspects.”

The PPRO added that consequently, the Command wished to state categorically that the rumour was untrue and that did not happened. “Members of the public are hereby enjoined to discountenance and ignore the story in its entirety, please”.

There were rampant cases of arrested suspects in various killings and abductions being freed. Some speakers at a recent security summit in Port Harcourt said many suspects were crowing the cells and that there were no persons to testify against them.

A monarch said the suspects usually made it back to their homes and cause more havoc. Most Nigerians fear that nobody arrested from electoral violence ever went to jail because their political godfathers usually assured them freedom soon after.