The Rivers Police on Sunday denied allegations that its personnel shot and wounded a senator, Magnus Abe.
Its spokesman, Ahmad Muhammad, a deputy superintendent of police, told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Port Harcourt that the police did not dispense any bullet while dispersing a rally by Save Rivers Movement on Sunday.
He said the people at the state College of Arts and Science for the rally were dispersed because they did not obtain a police permit.
“I can confirm to you that Sen. Magnus Abe was not shot. The police did not expend any single bullet while dispersing the crowd. It is not true. The police did not shoot the senator, we only used minimum force to disperse the crowd at the venue of the rally,” he said.
But the Rivers State government had alleged that Abe was shot by the police at the venue of the rally.
The Commissioner for information and Communications, Ibim Semenitari, who made the accusation in a statement on Sunday, also reiterated calls for the re-deployment of the state commissioner of police, Joseph Mbu, “before he turns the state into a graveyard”.
“Today’s attack on members of the Save Rivers Movement, a non governmental association, at the College of Arts and Science, Rumuola, Port Harcourt, Rivers State and especially the unprovoked shooting of Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, the senator representing Rivers South East senatorial district, is cause for worry and an indication of the length that the PDP is willing to go to silence opposing views,” she said.
The Press secretary to the senator, Honour Sirawoo, said a rubber bullet hit Abe on the chest when he went to supervise preparations for the rally at about 9.00 am on Sunday.