Explosions disrupt APC rally in First Lady’s town

This would be the fourth time that APC rally was attacked or stopped from going ahead in Okrika, the hometown of First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan.In yesterday’s incident, triple bomb blasts first rocked the vicinity of campaign ground a few minutes after the rally got underway.Leaders and thousands of party members scampered to safety as […]

This would be the fourth time that APC rally was attacked or stopped from going ahead in Okrika, the hometown of First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan.
In yesterday’s incident, triple bomb blasts first rocked the vicinity of campaign ground a few minutes after the rally got underway.
Leaders and thousands of party members scampered to safety as the blast went off in quick succession at the Okrika National Secondary School field in the early hours of the day.
Witnesses said the first explosion occurred at about 1:20pm in the field.
An announcement was made from the podium, ordering everybody in the VIP stand to vacate the area for security reasons.
As the people under the VIP stand were about heeding the order, the second explosion occurred at about 1:31pm inside a classroom, while the third explosion followed five minutes later.
About 20 minutes later, the APC governorship candidate Dakuku Peterside rallied his supporters and returned to the venue to resume the programme.
However, barely 30 minutes into the speeches sporadic gunfire rent the air from behind the Okrika Grammar School and the Cemetery.
Party supporters again fled to safety while the shootings lasted.  Public Address System (PAS) and other facilities were destroyed with explosives.
Riot policemen fired warning shots as they tried to restore order.
Security agencies arrested a young man on suspicion he had links with those behind the incident.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, Peterside said one police officer was killed during the incident, while many party supporters sustained injuries.
Peterside who spoke to reporters said unknown gunmen, led by a member of the state House of Assembly, invaded the venue of campaign rally and shot sporadically while party supporters scampered to safety.
Also speaking, Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who was not at the rally, blamed the attack on the  ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). “It is intimidation. They don’t want people to come out and vote because they know they’ll lose,” he told Reuters.
Rivers state police command public relation’s officer, DSP Ahmad Muhammad said police would release detailed account of the incident soon.
In a statement signed by Emma Okah, PDP spokesman for Rivers, said it was a clash between rival “cultists” and called on the police to carry out a thorough investigation into the matter.
The first rally was scheduled on January 24th 2015 but was aborted because of attack by suspected PDP thugs.
The second rally was fixed for February 9 but after all arrangements were made the State commissioner of police asked that the date be changed to February 12 to enable the police put in place adequate security measures.
The third rally was actually fixed for 1 February 12 but it was rescheduled to today because of the presence of the First Lady in Okrika.
Daily Trust reports that the APC in Rivers has suffered a number of bomb attacks since the beginning of the 2015 campaign rallies, including the bombing of the APC secretariat at Abam Ama in Okrika on January 11. The party’s secretariat at Omoku in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA area was also razed down. About eight persons lost their lives.