Port Harcourt Explosion: Police Arrest Perpetrator/Victim

The police in Rivers State have taken custody of a man, who was said to have held the dynamite that exploded in front of Hotel Presidential Port Harcourt when supporters of FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike were protesting in the city last Tuesday.
Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adaeze Oreh, said the man was traced to Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port after news broke that dynamite had exploded in his hands in front of the hotel during the protest.
Dr. Oreh said the plan was to detonate the bomb at the Presidential Hotel axis of the state capital to create panic and anarchy. She said the young man was brought to the hospital as an accident victim but his injuries were identified to have occurred from a blast.
She said the doctors immediately reported the case to government and the police. She said the patient was stabilized and was handed over to the police. She said only one of the people that brought the patient was still with him while the police would carry on with their investigations.
The pro-Wike protesters from Obio/Akpor Local Government led by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, and a former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Bright Amaehule, were in the streets to express support for the sealing off o local government secretariats by the police.
The police had occupied the 23 local government secretariats since June 20 when the tenure of the former local government chairmen and councilors expired. The police occupation has also denied the newly inaugurated caretaker committee members access to the secretariats to carry out their duties.
Following the standoff, Governor Siminalayi Fubara had directed the new CTC and local government workers to resume work at any other location pending the withdrawal of the police occupation of the secretariats.
The former local government chairmen and councilors had insisted that their tenure had been extended for another six months because the former faction of the House of Assembly led by Amaewhule had amended the local government law to extend their tenures accordingly. But a high court in Port had declared the amendment a nullity.