The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State has been accused of planning a fresh wave of politically-motivated violence even as the Judicial Commission of Enquiry recently set up by the State Government prepares to commence work on its assignment. Raising the alarm Wednesday in Port Harcourt, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, said that whereas victims of previous political killings in the state were APC members, PDP is now planning to sponsor attacks and the killing of its members with a view to blaming it on APC.

“A patriotic PDP chieftain who would not like to see yet another wave of needless blood-letting in our beloved State has tipped us off that the recent statement issued by Rivers PDP accusing our great party of importing arms and planning attacks was made to divert attention from a plot by the PDP leadership to unleash mayhem on some of its members and turn around to accuse the APC leadership of being behind the attacks. According to our informant, this is to make the public think that we are retaliating the attacks and killing of our members sponsored by Rivers State PDP. This they are doing in the hope that our innocent leaders would be arrested and handed over to the Rivers State Judicial Commission of Enquiry,” Ikanya said in a statement he issued in Port Harcourt.

The Rivers APC Chairman described the development as despicable and condemnable, saying: “It shows the extent to which some desperate power mongers can go in their satanic bid to grab power at all cost. We condemn it without reservation and hereby call on the security agencies to investigate and get to the root of the matter.”

Ikanya outrightly dismissed the allegation that Rivers APC is importing arms to cause violence and disrupt the April 11 governorship and State Assembly elections. His words: “We wish to state that we are Christians and not murderers and have no intention of importing arms or arming any youth, being fully aware of the implication of such an act on the security of our dear State. After the spate of political violence we have suffered in the hands of PDP, it beats our imagination that PDP will turn round to accuse APC of importing arms to cause violence to disrupt the April 11 polls. We have for months now been crying out over our travails in the hands of Rivers PDP under the leadership of its gubernatorial candidate, Chief Nyesome Wike.

“It is a well known fact that we have lost about 56 members to PDP’s politically-motivated violence since January, with the victims including a monarch, his three children and nine other APC members who were murdered just last weekend. We have always been at the receiving end of the violence sponsored by PDP and Chief Wike. PDP has demonstrated nothing but violence as it engineered the bombing of our Okrika and Andoni LG Secretariats and the disruption of our rallies at Okrika, resulting in the killing of an on-duty policeman.”

Ikanya said that, in addition, to the above, an assassination attempt was made on Governor Chibuike Amaechi few weeks ago while the convoy of his wife, Dame Judith Amaechi, was also attacked and APC’s guber candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, meted the same treatment at Okrika in February. “All these atrocious attacks were believed to have been sponsored by Rivers PDP and we look forward to getting justice from the Commission of Enquiry as no one has the right to terminate anyone’s life,” Rivers APC said.

The party said it is easy for the discerning public to judge which party believes in violence, noting that Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, once described PDP as a nest of killers while former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, also once disclosed that PDP was training some 1,000 snipers for the 2015 general elections.

•Photo shows the Rivers APC campaign venue in Okrika after it was attacked in February.

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