Two High Courts located at Ahoada and Okehi Divisions in Rivers State were today bombed by yet to be identified persons.
The bombing coincided with a hearing at the Ahoada High Court on the order barring Evans Bipi from parading himself as the Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly.
Justice Charles N. Wali of the Ahoada High Court had issued an exparte order ordering Bipi from parading himself as the Speaker of Rivers House of Assembly, following a motion filed by Speaker Otelemanba Dan Amachree and some other members of the house.
Wali adjourned the motion on notice for hearing till today January 6, 2014 for hearing.
But today the court was hit by an explosion which damaged the offices of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
The Rivers House of Assembly has been in turmoil since July 9, when an attempt to illegally remove Amachree as Speaker resulted in a free for all fight thereby leading to the sealing off the Assembly complex by the police.
Bipi is the leader of the six-member anti-Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi lawmakers and self-styled speaker of the House of Assembly.
He had recently advised Mr. Amaechi to recognize him as speaker if he still wanted to remain on his seat as governor of the oil rich state.
Curiously, the Rivers state police command denied the report of any explosion in the court, but confirmed evacuating a device suspected to be an explosive.
The Ahoada High Court was in December bombed. The bombing destroyed the parking lot of Justice Wali, less than 48 hours after the learned Judge gave a motion ex-parte barring Bipi from parading himself as the Speaker. The incident is still being investigated by security operatives in the state before today’s blast.
The spokesman of the Rivers state police command, Ahmed Muhammed (DSP), had said there was no explosion in Ahoada High Court, rather a yet-to-be detonated explosive device was discovered and was evacuated before it court before it exploded.
“That of Ahoada was that a good Samaritan sighted something within the premises of the Ahoada High Court, which he reasonably suspected to be a dynamite. He instantly alerted our men at the Ahoada Division, upon which the men at the division quickly ran down and cordoned off the entire place, evacuated all the people inside the premises of the court.
“I believe by now the anti-bomb squad of the command has reached that place. By now they would have removed that suspected explosive device and go to destroy it. It had not exploded. There was no explosion before then, I was the one who heard the information and informed the DPO and immediately he got there, he confirmed to me that there was something like dynamite, but there was nothing like explosion”, Muhammed said.
However, the bombing of Okehi High Court in Etche local government area of the state, presided over by Justice Christian Kiri Dappa-Aduo, burnt the offices of the judge.
An eyewitness said the judge’s sitting area, all court papers and seats within the court building were destroyed even as some tires and match sticks were seen within the wreck left of the court building.
“We came out early this morning to see people gathered in front of the court building, the place on flames. People ran round to save the situation, but before you could do anything, the fire had taken the whole place over”, the source said.
Police spokesman, Muhammed, responding on the fire at the Okehi court said “It was not an explosion but a fire incident that gutted office of the judge only. However, the police obtained some clues that will aid us in investigating the incident”.
The All Progressives Congress (APC), in a statement issued by its spokesman in the state, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, decried the situation in the state, which it said was already transforming Rivers into another terrorist jungle.
“It is very unfortunate and sad to note that Ahoada East High Court premises of Rivers State South-South of Nigeria was bombed and set ablaze this morning by agents of undemocratic elements. Those that perpetuated this heinous act may not be far from those who are not comfortable with the ruling of His Lordship, Hon. Justice C. N. Wali, of 16th December 2013 barring Hon. Evans Bipi, leader of the G6 rebel members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, from parading himself as Speaker of the Assembly.
However, the state’s chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has decried the bombing of Ahoada High court.
A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the state’s party chairman on Media, Jerry Needam, stated this Monday, pointing accusing fingers at the state government for the incident.
The Party said, “the case that temporarily restrained Hon Evans Bipi from parading himself as Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly was to come up today at the Ahoada high Court.
“Our team of Lawyers made up of over 10 Senior Advocates of Nigeria from Abuja and Lagos arrived the Ahoada High Court this morning to argue for the vacation of the interim order, and saw the senseless and
barbaric destruction of the Court”, the statement said.
Ogbonna Nwuke, member of House of Representatives representating Omuma /Etche constituency wondered why any reasonable person should attack a court premises.
‘’ My immediate reaction is that enemies of democracy are at work. Those who do not want to respect the rights of others, those who do believe in the rule of law and those who have no regards to people’s lives are at work.
Nwuke asked‘’ The law enforcement agencies should apprehend these faceless persons, who for political reasons , think the best thing to do is to turn Rivers state into an environment of terror, describing it as the worst thing that should happen in this country .
‘’The judiciary should take note that there are people who do not believe in the rule of law, there are people who do not believe in the justice system and there are people out to immediate others by all means, all in the name of politics.”
‘’ The law enforcement agents should protect the interest of the common man which the judicial process represents. The fact that people can find justice when they go to court, the fact that people can have access to the law courts, the fact that judicial officers must be protected,’’ Nwuke said he said
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