This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in PortHarcourt and signed by Courage Nsirimovu.
The statement reads; ”The Peoples Advocates(TPA) is deeply concerned about the tyrannical attacks on the Civic space and democracy in Rivers State.
‘April 1, 2023, TPA received very disturbing reports of the arrest of some APC Lawyers working on the Election Petition brief of Arch. Tonye Cole. The report reads “ Cole lamented that the lawyers were working on his election petitions to be filed at the tribunal when the police arrested them and went away with the evidence. He added that five support staff of the party were also arrested by the policemen.
”It was gathered that the lawyers, Jerry Aondo, Dr Sobere Nelson, and Odum Eyiba, who are from the chambers of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Tuduru Ede, were arrested on Friday night at a hotel they lodged in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
”The arrest came 48 hours after Cole led the party executives to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission to protest against refusal to you release Certified True Copies of documents used for the election as ordered by the court” ( copied from Punch Newspaper).
”TPA is worried, that even with a court order, INEC is delaying to release the public document due the APC to file their petition in Court, knowing full well that the time limit to file the petition would run out in 3days.
”TPA totally condemns the arrest of the said Lawyers and their support staff and the attempt to forcefully compromise their evidence. The Police in Rivers State has displayed high level of partiality and loyalty to the Governor and PDP against the other political parties.
‘In a follow up event to get the form E.8 yesterday April 3, 2023 at INEC office, based on the order of Court and time constraints, Architect Tonye Cole and APC Chieftains were assaulted by PDP supporters who ordinarily had no business at INEC office but wanted to hinder the APC from getting the exhibit‘s by inciting crisis.
”TPA noticed that the Police stood by and allowed the PDP supporters to have free course in their plot to attack the Guber Candidate of The APC and his team.
”It is true that the Police, has the responsibility to protect the Civic space by protecting non violent protesters. But once again the Police failed.
”TPA calls on INEC to release the CTC of the result sheets to the APC as ordered by Court in order to de-escalate the looming crisis and keep to the democratic tenet of respect for lawful orders.
”TPA calls on the Inspector General of Police to restructure the Police command in Rivers State, in order to restore the peoples confidence in a professional impartial and gallant police force.
”Finally, TPA calls on The APC to continue to make their constitutional, electoral, lawful and democratic demands is a lawful and peaceful manner in order to preserve our badly hurt democracy.
”TPA will continue to stand with truth and Justice as we fight to safeguard the Civic space for citizens of Nigeria to freely participate in governance process, freely associate, freely express themselves and freely assemble and protest”.
