The All
Progressives Congress in Rivers State has called on the United Nations,
Amnesty International and other relevant international organisations to
intervene in the continued attack on its members.
The state
APC said while some of its members had been killed as a result of
political violence allegedly unleashed by the Peoples Democratic Party
in the state, many of its faithful had sustained serious injuries
following the attacks.
Speaking
during an international press conference in Port Harcourt on Tuesday,
the State Chairman of the APC, Dr Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, also urged
humanitarian and democratic organisations to put in place a high-powered
election monitoring network in the state.
Ikanya
explained that such measures would help to avert bloodbath, which might
cripple the already weakened economy of the state, adding that an
acceptable election outcome was possible in Rivers only if the exercise
was free and fair.
He stated
that a free and fair election would not be possible if the current spate
of violence, highhandedness, intimidation and terror was not halted.
“We call
on Amnesty International, the International Red Cross, relevant organs
of the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and
the United Nations to immediately commence independent inquiries into
the gruesome attacks and killings in Rivers State.
“We call
on these and other humanitarian and democratic organisations and
institutions to set up a high-powered election monitoring networks,
teams and processes to monitor the elections in Rivers State to avert
unnecessary bloodbath which may cripple our already weakened economy.
“An
acceptable electoral outcome is possible in Rivers State only if the
elections are truly free and fair. There cannot be free and fair
elections if the spate of violent high handedness, intimidation and
terror is not halted.
“As the
2015 general elections approaches, the scale, magnitude and intensity of
the orchestrated violence against members of the APC is assuming a
frightful dimension and this necessitated that we cry out to the
Nigerian and international community,” the state APC chairman added.
Ikanya
maintained that thugs allegedly hired by the PDP attacked and killed APC
members under the watchful eyes of the police without any arrest.
He,
however, urged members of his party to remain calm and law abiding, but
defend themselves, insisting that APC members were being attacked so
that they (APC members) would believe that it was unsafe for them to
come out and vote, thereby disenfranchising them.
Ikanya
criticized the police for their inability to arrest at least one culprit
out of 13 different attacks on members and supporters of the APC in
different communities and local governments of the state.
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