Port Harcourt, Rivers State – Rivers State’s Sole Administrator, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, is facing criticism following allegations that he deployed military personnel to retrieve three official vehicles from the residence of the suspended Deputy Governor, Professor Ngozi Nma Odu.
Sources indicate that individuals believed to be naval operatives, along with state government officials, arrived at Professor Odu’s Port Harcourt residence and removed the vehicles, reportedly acting on the Sole Administrator’s orders. The vehicles taken were identified as two Toyota Hilux trucks and one Toyota Hiace bus.
Democracy Watch Nigeria has condemned the incident, describing the alleged involvement of military personnel as “disturbing.” In a statement released in Port Harcourt by its spokesperson, Elder Vincent Chimene Wopara, the group claimed that the naval officers executed the retrieval in a “commando-style raid.”
“In a disturbing show of force, the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), on Friday, 25 April, ordered naval personnel to storm the official residence of the Deputy Governor of Rivers State and forcibly remove three vehicles,” Wopara stated. “The naval officers, acting on the direct instruction of the Sole Administrator, carried out the operation in a commando-style raid, taking away two Toyota Hilux vehicles and one Toyota Hiace bus. The brazen action took place in the early hours of the day and has since sparked widespread condemnation across the state.”
Democracy Watch Nigeria asserted that this action represents a “new low” in the alleged disregard for due process and democratic norms in Rivers State. The group views the incident as a “targeted provocation” intended to intimidate the office of the Deputy Governor.
“This development marks a new low in the ongoing disregard for due process and democratic norms under the current administration. The action is viewed by many observers as a targeted provocation, intended to intimidate and humiliate the office of the Deputy Governor, which remains a constitutionally recognised institution,” Wopara added.
The organization called on Nigerians, civil society organizations, and the international community to take note of the “growing trend of militarisation and impunity” in Rivers State. They emphasized the importance of those in authority acting within the law and upholding the dignity of democratic institutions.
Meanwhile, as reported earlier, the Rivers State Government has defended the retrieval of the vehicles, stating that the action was a necessary measure to ensure the protection of government property.
