Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that
there is an orchestrated plot to create the impression that the state is unsafe
through the promotion of targeted cult killings.
This is as the Federal Government called for partnership
between it and the Rivers State Government to tackle security challenges in the
state.
Speaking during a visit of the Minister of Interior, Lt
General Abdulrahman Danbazzau, to the Government House Port Harcourt on Friday,
Governor Wike said that the security agencies in the state know the cult
kingpins terrorising flashpoints in the state.
He said: "The Security agencies have the profiles of
all cult kingpins in different parts of the state and they know their
locations.
"There is no wisdom in the politicization of security.
Insecurity can affect anybody. You can never know the next victim of insecurity
".
He urged the security agencies and the Federal Government to
deploy personnel to cult flashpoints in the state to forestall repeated attacks
by cultists.
"In every system, the security agencies know the
flashpoints . Here we requested for the strengthening of security around these
flashpoints, especially areas with high prevalence of cultists. I expected that
security would be beefed up in these places.
"I ask this question. Is there an orchestrated plan to
tag Rivers State as unsafe? Is the situation above the security agencies
despite the information we have made available to them?" Governor Wike
asked .
Governor Wike also blamed oil multinationals for the
explosion of cultism in some communities, pointing out that the multinationals
award surveillance contracts to cultists.
He said equipped with funds from multinationals, cultists
procure sophisticated weapons with which they terrorise communities and
law-abiding persons.
The governor said that the Rivers State Government has made
several requests to the Inspector General of Police for the deployment of
special squads to tackle cultism and kidnapping. He said that the Inspector
General of Police has failed to deploy the special squads to the state, despite
the requests.
He said: "The peculiar nature of Rivers State requires
peculiar intervention. Before now, I have been shouting that we need support to
fight crime. I have made this complaint severally".
The governor berated politicians who want to use the
cult-related killings to play politics and make false allegations against the
state.
Earlier, the Minister of Interior, Lt General Abdulrahman
Danbazzau said he was in Rivers State at the instance of President Muhammadu
Buhari to assess the security situation of the state.
On behalf of the President, he commiserated with the
Government and people of Rivers State over the killings at Omoku.
"Rivers State is important to the country, particularly
when it comes to the issue of the economy. It is very important that the
Federal Government partners with the state to see how any security gaps can be
closed for adequate protection of lives and property ", he said.
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