Rivers Extends Curfew in 23 LGs over Insecurity

Rivers State Government has extended the night curfew across the 23 local government areas of the state from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., with effect from today (Tuesday), in order to stem dastardly attacks on security formations in the State.

Governor Nyesom Wike said yesterday that the decision was taken in the wake of multiple armed ambushes on police checkpoints along the East-West road, which resulted in the cold-blooded murder of seven police officers over the weekend.

The governor in a state broadcast yesterday, said the state security council had reviewed the way and manner the recent attacks were executed and discovered that the perpetrators, who disguised themselves as security officers, moved unhindered from Oyigbo to launch the attack.

The governor’s broadcast was relayed to journalists in Port Harcourt by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri.

The statement read, “However, as a further step towards enhancing our collective safety, we have reviewed the existing nighttime curfew across the 23 Local Government Areas, which will now start from 7 p.m. and end at 6 a.m. until further notice from tomorrow, May 11, 2021.

“The security agencies are hereby directed to note the new curfew time, ensure strict compliance and effectively deal with any person or group that violates or attempts to violate it.

“We have reviewed, and for the moment, declined the pressure on the State Government to activate our youth to defend the State from these terrorists because we don’t want to complicate our very delicate security situation by creating opportunities for some other monsters to emerge.”

Wike, who consoled the families of the dead officers and the State’s Police Command for the irreparable loss, declared that the government and security agencies are determined to deploy everything at their disposal to advance the safety and security of lives and property in the State.

“We wish to assure every resident that we are not intimidated by the sporadic and cowardly attacks on predetermined security targets by faceless criminals on our soil; neither will we be cowed into succumbing to a baseless and doomed secessionists agenda,” the governor added.