Despite Rivers state sole administrator, retired Vice Admital Ibok Ibas’s strict warning, some women today continued their protest against the imposition of military rule in the state as well as suspension of Gov. Siminialayi Fubara.
Recall the administrator through his Senior Special Adviser on Media, Hector Igbikiowubo, had urged the suspended governor’s supporters to stop their protests.
The protesters marched to the Rivers State Government House, chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards demanding the governor’s reinstatement.
They called on President Bola Tinubu to lift the suspension and restore all democratic institutions in the state, insisting Governor Fubara has done nothing wrong.
Meanwhile, the Amnesty International Nigeria has urged the government to respect and uphold freedom of assembly in Rivers state.
In a statement on Friday, the body said that people have the right to peacefully assemble and express their opinions on any issue that matters to them.
It noted that the politically motivated declaration of emergency had already increased militarization and marginalization of people of the state.
“The declaration of state of emergency in Rivers state is perhaps one of the biggest setbacks on Nigeria’s democratic journey and federalism.
” Emergency rule must not be used as a pretext for pushing the state to edge of an abyss and trampling over the rule of law and human rights”, it stated.
