THERE was confusion in Port Harcourt on Thursday as operatives of the Rivers State Police Command shot teargas canisters at pro-Rotimi Amaechi lawmakers and some members of the All Progressives Congress.
Twenty-five members of the state House of Assembly loyal to the state governor were stopped by the policemen, who mounted a roadblock with two armoured personnel carriers and 14 patrol vans on both ends of Moscow Road ostensibly to prevent the lawmakers from gaining entry into the House of Assembly complex.
The pro-Amaechi lawmakers, led by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Leyii Kwanee, told the policemen that they (Assembly members) were acting on a court ruling in Abuja that the National Assembly should no longer take over the functions of the state lawmakers.
However, when all entreaties from the 25 state lawmakers did not sway the policemen that had already cordoned off the road, they (lawmakers) decided to hold a makeshift session on Moscow Road to the surprise of passersby.
The police led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Port Harcourt Area Command, Mr. Aliyu Garba, had insisted that the leadership of the House must write to the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu, before the Assembly complex could be reopened.
While both ends of Moscow Road where the State Police Command and the State Assembly complex were located remained blocked, the police suddenly began to fire teargas canisters to disperse the lawmakers, their supporters and some APC leaders.
Some of those who were affected by the teargas were the Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, interim Chairman of APC in the state, Chief Davies Ikanya and some local government chairmen.
Also affected were some workers at the State Secretariat, who immediately left their offices as a result of the effect of the teargas.
Newsmen who were on the ground to cover the expected reopening of the state House of Assembly and passersby also had a full dose of the teargas.
The deputy speaker expressed surprise that the state police could stop them from entering the Assembly complex to carry out their legislative functions after a Federal High Court had directed that the House should be reopened.
In his remark, the member representing Eleme State Constituency, Mr. Josiah John Olu, said it was wrong for the police to have prevented the lawmakers from gaining entrance into the Assembly complex to perform their duties based on Wednesday's Abuja Court ruling.
"The High Court in Abuja gave a judgement yesterday (Wednesday) and we are in tune with that judgement. I am here with over 20 of my colleagues and we are ready to work.
"Initially, they were saying we are afraid and we wanted to hand over our duties to the National Assembly. Now, we are here and we are ready to work, but the Nigeria Police will not allow us to enter into our offices," Olu said.
Earlier in a radio telephone interview, the member representing Ogu/Bolo State Constituency, Mr. Evans Bipi, had expressed dissatisfaction that members of the House, who were interested in handing over their function to the National Assembly, were the first to report to the House.
Bibi, who is the leader of the now six anti-Amaechi lawmakers, explained that it was out of place for the 25 lawmakers that were still under suspension to report to the House of Assembly complex.
Maintaining that he remains the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Bipi said, "Otelemaba Dan Amachree was duly impeached as the Speaker and I was sworn in as the new Speaker. The court recognises this.
"So, any person who feels he is not comfortable with the fact should go to court. As it is, I am the authentic Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly."
Bipi, however, pointed out that he was not ready to impeach the state governor, adding that the House of Assembly would sit whenever he found it necessary.
The interim Chairman of the State APC, Chief Davies Ikanya, alleged that the police were planning to sneak in five anti-Amaechi lawmakers into the Assembly complex.
Ikanya said, "You have seen the situation in Rivers State. You have been here with us to see how power is being used against the people.
"We suspect very strongly that there is an attempt to allow five lawmakers to sneak into the Assembly to say they are carrying out the functions of the Assembly.
"This was the case when they almost succeeded in impeaching the governor of Rivers State by just five of them in a 32-member House of Assembly. Now, the police are barring genuine House of Assembly members from having access to the Assembly building.
"They are also stopping them from having access to the commissioner of Police to seek protection for them to resume their sitting. This is unacceptable to APC as a party in Rivers State. We are saying that the police are being used against genuine people of Rivers State."
Efforts made to reach the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, to speak on the matter was not successful as his mobile phone was switched off when our correspondent called.
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