Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
A group, Rivers Women Unite Prayer Group has called for an end to Emergency Rule in the state, just as they called on the presidency to direct the military deployed to the state to go and fight terrorists in the north eastern parts of the country.
The aggrieved protesters, who took to the major streets of Port Harcourt again on Wednesday, demanding reinstatement of the suspended governor, Siminalayi Fubara, expressed their rejection of the state of emergency and appointment of a sole administrator.
In a statement credited to Dr. Nancy Chidi Nwankwo and Dr. Vivian Ige-Elenwo, on behalf of Rivers Women Prayer Group, they alleged that the continuous actions of the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), have clearly exposed the ulterior and politically motivated intentions behind the emergency rule.
According to the women, in Rivers State, “over 10,000 police personnel and countless military operatives have been deployed — not for security, but for political intimidation under the guise of emergency rule.
“We, the women of Rivers State, firmly reject every attempt to stifle the voices of our people or frustrate legitimate dissent. We condemn in strong terms the dictatorial tendencies of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju.
“On Friday, April 11, 2025, we held a peaceful protest against the injustice meted out to our state. Shockingly, the police responded with force, deploying tear gas and brute intimidation in a bid to silence our democratic right to peaceful assembly.”
They further urged members of the public, civil society groups, and particularly the National Assembly, to continue to speak out against the state of emergency and urgently act for its withdrawal in Rivers.
The pro-Fubara female protesters noted: “It is disturbing to note that in many truly volatile regions of Nigeria, where communities are under siege by terrorists and where lives are being lost daily, the federal government has neither declared State of Emergency, suspended the governor nor deployed adequate security forces.”
They, therefore, demanded the immediate removal of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, CP Adepoju; an urgent and total end to the illegal state of emergency imposed on Rivers State and the full restoration of all democratic institutions, including the reinstatement of the duly elected governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
Also, they called for “redeployment of military personnel to regions where they are truly needed, where citizens are being slaughtered and communities are being ravaged by terrorists.
“Our beloved nation is teetering dangerously toward becoming a banana republic. This descent must be halted, and Nigeria must be rescued from political tyranny and systemic impunity.
“Finally, we call on the international community to take a firm stand, to intervene diplomatically, and to prevail on the Nigerian government to restore democracy and protect the rights and dignity of the people of Rivers State.
“Our people deserve peace, justice, and the freedom to thrive in a truly democratic society.”