Recently promoted to Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Mr. Joseph Mbu, has been described as a toothless attack dog and a shameless, corrupt puppet of a woman (apparently First Lady Patience Jonathan) rather than the lion which he believes he is.

Mbu’s archenemy, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, hung the new label on the man with whom he had running battles during his days as Rivers State Commissioner of Police.

Mbu, who last served as FCT Commissioner of Police, had while handing over to his successor, Wilson Inalegwu, on Monday in Abuja, advised him to be strong just as he (Mbu) was during his days in Rivers State. He went on to describe himself as a lion who tamed Amaechi the leopard.

Replying yesterday via a statement by his Chief Press Secretary David Iyofor, Amaechi said: “Indeed it is very sad, pathetic, however ironic that Mbu called himself a lion. Which lion? This character called Mbu Joseph Mbu completely lacks the courage, steel and strength of character of a lion. Rather, he is a shameless, corrupt puppet of a woman.

“This is a man paid by taxpayers to protect, secure and serve the interests of the people. But when he was in Rivers State, he spurned the people, trampled on the masses and rather elected to be the partisan servant of one woman, to be the woman’s tool in causing disaffection, confusion and crises in the state. Mbu shamelessly and corruptly turned himself into the toothless attack dog of this woman to fight the government and people of the state.

“How can a man who has no strength of character to be himself, to be a man and stand up to a woman, a man who willingly submits himself to serve as the puppet of a woman call himself a lion? How ironic! Mbu, no lion behaves like that! You are a disgrace and shame to the Nigerian Police Force.”

Not yet done, Amaechi fired on: “Mbu not only disobeyed the Inspector General of Police (IG) during his time in the state but also clearly acted lawlessly, like a man who is above the law and in fact, turned himself into the law.

“Mbu did all these because he was the puppet of one woman, a woman who clearly has no constitutional role to play in the governance of the state or Nigeria. Mbu’s only claim to fame and prominence is because he has turned himself into a willing tool and servant of this woman. Mbu is a very bad example of a police officer.”

The governor claimed that when Mbu was redeployed from Rivers to Abuja, he disobeyed the instruction of the IG to pack out of his official residence in the state. According to Amechi, “Mbu refused to pack out because he said he would come back here (to Rivers State) as the commissioner to organise the 2015 elections. During his time here, when we hold Security Council meetings in Rivers State, he goes to report the proceedings of the meetings, what everyone said, to his woman puppeteer. What a shame. Mbu is a disgrace to the police force.”

He declared that “a thousand Mbus can neither tame, to use his word, Amaechi nor the people of Rivers State to surrender their constitutionally guaranteed democratic rights to anyone, no matter how highly placed.”

•Photo shows Governor Amaechi.