Following a protest in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, 122 young people are said to have broken into the official residence of the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule. The arrests have been confirmed by the Rivers State Police Command.
The State Chairman of the National Youths Council of Nigeria, according to the command, was leading the protestors. Ihunwo Chijioke.
Emeka Nwonyi, the state commissioner of police, revealed this in a statement released on Wednesday.
The spokesman for the command, Superintendent of Police Grace Iringe-Koko, signed Nwonyi’s statement.
He claimed that the young person broke down the fence to forcefully enter the Speaker’s home at Forces Avenue, Old GRA, Port Harcourt, with the intention of committing a felony.
In order to prevent a breakdown in law and order, Nwonyi noted that security has been stepped up at the state House of Assembly complex at Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, the Speaker’s residence, and other key areas and infrastructure in the state.
“On Tuesday, October 31, 2023, around 11:45 a.m., the Rivers State Police Command arrested some ouths led by Chijioke Ihunwo. These ouths went to the official residence of Martins Amaewhule, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, located at Forces Avenue, Old GRA, Port Harcourt, with the intent to commit a felony. They forced their way inside the Speaker’s residence and vandalized the gate.”
“Tactical teams were immediately dispatched to the scene, where 122 suspects, including the aforementioned Chijioke Ihunwo, were arrested and taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Port Harcourt, for a discrete investigation, while they were carrying out their nefarious activities at the scene.”