Gunmen Blow Up Rivers APC Secretariat

The three-storey building secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State was blown up on Sunday, by what is suspected to be dynamite.

Chairman of APC in the in the local government, Christian Asifamaka, told newsmen at the scene of the incident that the explosion, which occurred at about 3.15am, brought down the walls of the party secretariat, located at Abam-Ama community of Okrika, and that the worst hit was the chairman’s office.

Destroyed in the explosion according to Asifamaka were official documents of the APC as well as properties belonging to the party, and worth over N5million were destroyed.

When contacted, the state police public relations officer (PPRO), Ahmad Muhammad, confirmed the attack, saying the command had launched investigation into the incident to bring those behind the ugly act to book.

Reacting to the development, the governorship candidate of APC in the state, Dr Dakuku Peterside, condemned the act, and expressed the hope that the Nigeria Police and other security agencies would assist in arresting those behind the act.

Peterside, who made the condemnation while speaking to newsmen in Okrika, shortly after assessing the level of damage caused by the explosion, accused members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the area of being responsible for the ugly act.

He said that members and supporters of the PDP in the state have initiated a particular pattern of meting out violence to the people of the state, especially members of the APC.

Peterside said, “This development is very said and it is unfortunate that some persons in the society have decided to choose this path. If you have noticed, there has been a pattern of violence lately. On the 6th day of January, when we had our presidential rally at the Adokiye Amesiemeka Stadium, we would have noted that some of our people who were coming from Abonnema, Degema, Asari-Toru axis were attacked around Sa-Ama junction.”