Summit confirms insecurity in Rivers

A security summit held in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, confirmed that insecurity had overtaken Rivers State, contrary to denials by the state government and claims that reports of insecurity were orchestrated by newsmen and concocted by the opposition.

More so, the state governor’s special adviser, Fred Atteng, who is a licensed security adviser, pointedly stated, “We have problem in Rivers State. There is security problem in Rivers State. So, let us seek solution from this exercise. This summit will not be successful without solutions and suggestions.”

He went ahead to note that security should be from the community point of view, naming sabotage especially of pipelines, rape and abduction. He said espionage and subversion were other forms of insecurity known to societies.

 The National Association of Seadogs (NAS) which has become visible in the state in the past few months staged the security summit as its contribution to the state and drew heads of security agencies (except the police) to the even which held at the state secretariat.

 Speaker after speaker spoke about the deteriorating security situation in the state where lives are now being lost in high numbers, beheading is taking place frequently, and abduction is rife while robbery is with high velocity.

The controller of immigration in the state, Isiaku Haliru, hit the nail on the head when he said the state security meeting was no longer taking place, saying since he came to the state, he had not been invited to one except during the election period.

He revealed that many companies were shutting down and that many expatriates had fled the state, although many others said this did not start this time.

He also lamented over what he called lack of information sharing amongst the security agencies in the state, unlike elsewhere in the country.

A participant, a monarch, Ejike Nwali, added that frequent transfer of police commissioners had also added to loss of grip on security matters by the police.

Most speakers agreed that crash of family values and collapse of traditional institutions had led to everyone to his gun, while others talked about lack of empowerment to the youths. It was agreed that most youth in the state want money without work. Yet, the politicians were blamed for arming the youth and for encouraging violence. Electoral violence was heavily condemned.

The communiqué at the end of the summit called for urgent actions to save Rivers State. There was the call for re-enforcement of security and collaborations to save the state, admitting that development, which the state was pursing vigorously, would hardly take place in the face of massive insecurity.

Several measures were listed to be tabled before the authorities. The national president of NAS, Ifeanyi Anochie, said his organisation would not stop at the summit but would take the resolutions to the various doorsteps to help fight the situation.