Tension is rising among opposition political parties in Rivers State as the 2023 general election approaches, following a series of attacks on their campaign rallies. Recently, the campaign train of Magnus Abe, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate, was targeted with sporadic gunfire by suspected political thugs in Ahoada West Local Government Area (LGA).
In a similar incident, the campaign of Tonye Cole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, was attacked in Opobo town, Opobo/Nkoro LGA, where a party member was kidnapped and later released. Additionally, three APC members campaigning door‑to‑door in Omuma LGA suffered machete injuries amid threats that the party would not be allowed to hold its scheduled rally in the area.
Onyekachi Ojiegbe, the leader of the APC in Omuma LGA, expressed concerns for the safety of party members due to the activities of armed political thugs. He revealed that the party had submitted approximately 17 petitions to the state Commissioner of Police, Okon Effiong, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police in the region, seeking protection and intervention.
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