Again, Wike reviews curfew from 7:00p.m to 6:00a.m

To assist families of slain police officers with N20m each
To check rising attacks on security formations in Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike has again reviewed the night curfew from 7:00p.m. to 6 a.m., with effect from Tuesday, May 11, 2021 (today).

In a broadcast yesterday, he said the state government took the decision due to multiple ambush of police checkpoints on the East-West road, which resulted in the killing of seven police officers at the weekend.

The Guardian recalled that Wike had on April 28, 2021 ordered closure of all state boundaries from 8:00p.m. to 6:00a.m.

However, after gunmen invaded security checkpoints along the Port Harcourt-Owerri road, killing six officers despite the restrictions, he extended the curfew to the 23 councils of the state from 10:00p.m. to 6:00a.m.

Wike explained that the State Security Council reviewed the way and manner in which the recent attacks were executed and discovered that the perpetrators, who disguised as security officers, moved from Oyigbo to launch the attack.

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

“We have reviewed and for the moment, declined the pressure on the state government to activate our youths to defend the state from external aggression and terrorists, because we don’t want to complicate the security situation by creating opportunities for some other monsters to emerge,” he said.

The governor, who commiserated with families of the deceased officers and the state police command for the loss, declared that the state government and security agencies were determined to deploy everything at their disposal for the safety and security of life and property of Rivers people.

He further assured that security agencies were on the trail of the gunmen who attacked security formations in the state and expressed the hope that the culprits would soon be arrested and prosecuted.

Wike restated his resolve to defeat those he described as ‘the evil forces’ presently threatening the individual and collective security of Rivers State.

MEANWHILE, Wike has promised to give N20m to families of each slain police officer during recent attacks in the state.

In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, he said no amount of money could equate human life, noting that the gesture was aimed at assisting the bereaved families that their loved ones did not die in vain.