The Rivers State Police Command has been accused of shielding those responsible for an attack on an ARISE TV news crew and a guest, Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, in Port Harcourt.

The incident reportedly occurred on Friday at a hotel in the Orazi area of the state capital during a live television interview.

Confirming the attack, the Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Grace Iringe-Koko, said unidentified armed youths disrupted the interview and assaulted members of the ARISE TV crew while Nwibubasa, a former Rivers State Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, was on air.

Narrating the incident, the ARISE TV reporter who led the crew, Andy Omano, said the police were contacted immediately. “I called the police and some of my colleagues. The Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area later arrived with his men,” he said.

In her reaction, Iringe-Koko said timely police intervention prevented further harm.

“Police intervention averted the attack. All items collected from the journalists, including cameras and other equipment, have been recovered. They are safe,” she said.

However, reacting to the incident, an Ogoni-born political management consultant, Joe Korka-Waadah, accused the police of shielding the perpetrators, allegedly due to undue influence.

Korka-Waadah, who is also the Executive Director of the Canada-based Compassionate Heart Foundation, described the incident as an attack on the Ogoni people and warned that it highlighted the dangers facing democratic expression as the 2027 elections approach.

“It is unfortunate that in our dear Rivers State, thugs and hoodlums can be deployed with impunity to harm or possibly kill a citizen merely for expressing an opinion to which he is entitled,” he said.

According to him, the incident occurred on Ogoni Day, a development he described as symbolic and deeply troubling. He recalled past abuses against the Ogoni people, including the killing of four Ogoni leaders and the execution of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others in 1995.

“This was not just an attack on Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa as an individual. As a prominent son of Ogoni, it was an attack on the entire Ogoni nation. We will not sit by and allow intimidation or violence against our people. Never again,” Korka-Waadah said.

He further expressed concern that while the police rescued the victims and recovered seized equipment, no arrests were made.

“The failure to make a single arrest in an incident where the attackers were clearly visible amounts to aiding and abetting criminality,” he added.

Efforts to obtain further reaction from the police on the allegation of shielding the attackers were ongoing as of press time. (The Guardian)