Some Residents of Port Harcout, the Rivers state capital, are reporting heavy shooting in the mile three (3) area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State as the Port Harcourt Constituency III by-election for a seat in the state House of Assembly is taking place.
Some residents say the gun shots are from thugs led by a former member of the Rivers state House of Assembly, who is now the Port Harcourt City local government chairman, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). We could not verify the veracity this information as at the time of filing this report.
Some All Progressives Congress (APC) agents also claimed PDP thugs are intimidating them at Ward 10, Unit 11 during the exercise.
In Ward 18, Unit 6, an APC member, John Orjiafor said the PDP guy hijacked the ballot box in the area, accusing the police on ground of aiding and abetting them.
He, however, called for the deployment of the SARS unit of the police to provide adequate security. The Rivers state police command had earlier announced a restriction of movement in some parts of the state for the election.
The state commissioner of police, Zaki Ahmed, said this directive will take effect from 6am to 6pm only in areas where voting is to take place. He also assured that adequate deployments of security personnel have been made to ensure a free, fair, credible and violence free election.
This incidence is coming barely a week after the House of Representatives by-election in Lokoja/Kotonkarfe federal constituency in Kogi state on Saturday, August 11, was marred by violence as a supporter of the APC was stabbed to death.
The deceased, Yahaya Umoru, was stabbed to death by a supporter of rival political party, after he resisted attempts by thugs to cart away a ballot box. The thugs reportedly stormed a polling unit in Lokoja, the state capital, and attempted to forcefully take away the ballot box at the unit.
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