In a brazen and disturbing incident, unknown gunmen launched a fresh attack on the Rivers State secretariat of the Action People’s Party (APP) on Tuesday night, leaving the security guard shot and wounded.
According to eyewitnesses and online videos, the guard was shot in the back, with the bullet still lodged in his body.
The State Chairman of the party, Sunny Wokekoro, confirmed the incident and revealed that the police had informed him that the shooter may have fired from a nearby uncompleted building.
Wokekoro said the motive behind the attack remains unclear, saying it has raised concerns about the safety and security of the political party after a dynamite was thrown into a party building about a month ago.
Wokekorosaid: “It happened at night, it was around midnight that I was called, so I tried to call the Inspector who is on this axis but all my efforts to reach was in vain. So I had to call the person who was in charge of the daytime, it was this morning that he came to brief me and the DPO of Abacha police station. They assumed that the gun would have come from the uncompleted building beside us and then got a security man, they made calls that night and rushed him to the hospital where the bullet was pulled out of his body.”
The APP chairman said maybe the attack might be politically motivated. He also said the bullet had been removed and the victim is recovering.
“It did not affect the vital areas, it would have affected his chest or head it would have been a different story. The attack may possibly be politically motivated because it is a party office but it is left for the police to do their investigation and give us a concrete statement on it based on their experte knowledge concerning matters like that. So it is not in my place to point any accusing fingers or begin to make assumptions.
“As a matter of facts, the dynamiting of my party Office about a month ago, uptill today we are still waiting for the report of the investigation as promised by the police,” he said.
The incident has also sparked fears of rising political tensions and violence in the lead-up to local government council elections slated fro October 5.
The state police command has not spoken about the incident yet at the time of filing this report.
