The Rivers State Police Command yesterday blocked all the entrances to the state-owned University of Science and Technology, located in the state' s capital city of Port Harcourt. The action prevented a tour of the project of the state government by Governor Rotimi Amaech and some youths attending a programme organised by the Rotary Club with the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.
The tour, it was gathered, was however aborted as armed policemen who stormed the university's campus early Friday morning ordered everybody to remain within the confines if the school walls. The state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had alleged that the youths were planning a protest and had warned them against being engaged to protest against the President Goodluck Jonathan.
It was gathered that youths, mainly students, numbering over 500 were waiting to be conveyed in some luxury buses provided by the state government from the university where they were camped, before policemen swooped on them. The police alleged that the youths who were at the state owned institution for a retreat being organised by Rotary International, District 9140, had been mobilised by the Rivers State government to protest against the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
Governor Amaechi had on Thursday criticised President Jonathan's administration for its failure to speedily complete the construction of the East-West Road, among many other things. Organisers of the programme told Saturday Mirror that Governor Amaechi who addressed the youths on Thursday on the issue of leadership, had promised to take them on an inspection tour of some projects embarked on by his administration.
One of the youths who also spoke with journalists although on the condition of anonymity, explained that shortly after some state – owned buses arrived at the campus to convey them to the Government House, police patrol vans, numbering about ten, stormed the campus and blocked the buses from embarking on the trip.
According to him, "When the organisers of the retreat (Rotary Club) insisted on the motive for the obstruction, the policemen claimed that intelligence reports revealed that they were going on a protest match against President Jonathan.
The leader of policemen who stormed the hostels where the youths were housed, was said to have told the organisers of the retreat to write an undertaken that they were not going out on a demonstration over the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relation Officer, PPRO, Mrs. Angela Agabe, who was recently re-deployed from her post, said she was in the middle of handing over to her successor and was not disposed to responding to the issue.
However, the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said the action of the police was disturbing, even as she denied that the state government was mobilising the youths or anyone for that matter, to protest against the president or the federal government.
Source: Rivers: Police abort youths tour of project with Amaechi (http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/rivers-police-abort-youths-tour-of-project-with-amaechi/)
Well all they're doing is all for the good of the state so the citizens there must just understand and co-operate with them! Good one.