Inside the expansive Banquet Hall at Government House, Port Harcourt, just before the New Year, Governor Chibuike Rotimi was doing what he knows how to do best, boldly attacking the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, whose action against the Governor is another form of war. It, therefore came as a surprise a few days later that the leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly Hon. Chidi Lloyd had been arrested by the police for the alleged murder of his political rival and a police officer came as a surprise to 247ureports.com. The real target was Amaechi.
Even though we are on solidly on ground in Rivers State, we didn’t expect that Lloyd who had to fight his way out of detention for the attempted murder of fellow lawmaker Hon. Micheal Okechukwu Chinda to be in the news for the wrong reason a few months after. However, it is a clear indication of things to come in the days ahead as political gladiators within and outside the state battle for the soul of Rivers politics.
If Lloyd is kept in the cooler as his arrest suggests, it will surely be a setback for Amaechi, who so far has relied on the Deputy Speaker Hon. Leyii Kwanee to counter the rhetorics of Jerry Needam, the media assistant to the state People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Felix Obuah.
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Otelemabama Amachree had been silenced by the police through series of allegations, which he caused following the allegations he had made but failed to substantiate. It would be recalled that among others, Amachree had alleged that there were plots from a “neighbouring state to assassinate Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.”
Chidi Lloyd loves to put up a fight. He is one lamaker that cannot be cowed easily, which he strongly demonstrated during the failed attempt by Hon. Evans Bipi to impose himself as Speaker, and thereby hijack the House and impeach Governor Chibuike Rotimi Ameachi.
It was Lloyd who took it upon himself to rally round a few members within the group of 27 lawmakers supporting Amaechi. A handful of the G-27 lawmakers had given their support to G-5 led by Bipi, who is close to First Lady Patience Jonathan. What happened next after the counter led by Lloyd saved Ameachi from impeachment.
According to the PPRO, Mr. Ahmad Mohammedf: “The Rivers State Police Command has arrested Hon. Chidi Llyod of the Rivers State House of Assembly for murder of police Sgt. Urang Obediah and Mr. Kingsley Ejeuo, his kinsman and arch political opponent.
“He was arrested on his way to join Governor Amaechi Rotimi in his private jet at the Airforce base to escape justice.
“Hon. Chidi Lloyd on December 30, 2013 while pursuing his political opponent, knocked down Sgt. Urang Obediah, in spite of his effort to stop him, rammed and killed him and went ahead to crush the Passat car of Mr. Kingsley Ejeuo was driving and killed him.
“Initially the Police thought that it was a mere accident, which ought to have been a manslaughter. The Commissioner of Police directed ACP Aliyu Garba, the Area Commander Metro, to visit him in his hospital bed and commiserate with him, conscious of what he did, Chidi Lloyd relocated to another hospital.
“Facts emerged that Chidi Lloyd drove a bullet-proof vehicle while pursuing his political opponent, late Mr. Kingsley Ejeuo, and he (Lloyd) knocked down Sgt. Urang Obediah, who died on the spot and (Lloyd) moved ahead to smash a political opponent in his Passat car who equally died instantly,”
But reacting to the allegation, David Iyofor, the CPS to Amaechi said the arrest of Lloyd is” another attempt to hoodwink the public and discredit the Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi,” noting that ” the Rivers State police command had released a completely distorted and untrue account of the circumstances surrounding the arrest of the Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Chidi Lloyd on January 2, 2014. We emphatically state that;
Iyofor noted that:
“Governor Amaechi has no private plane or jet as claimed by the police and Hon. Lloyd was no where near the plane that took the governor from Port Harcourt to Abuja.
“The Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi was about to leave for Abuja when he was informed that the Rivers State Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu had ordered that the plane(which is not the governor’s private jet, as claimed by the police) cannot leave Port Harcourt because Hon. Lloyd was in the plane and about to ‘escape’ with Governor Amaechi.
“Shocked, several calls were put across to CP Mbu that were not answered.
“CP Mbu later showed up and when the governor asked him, he denied giving such an order. He then went on and on, making a baseless, noisy argument that no one could comprehend.
“Governor Amaechi put it to him that he(Mbu) came to search the plane for Chidi Llyod and told him to go ahead and search the plane. Mbu continued talking endlessly, showing absolutely no respect or regard for the office of the Governor of Rivers State who is the Chief Security Officer of the State.
“Governor Amaechi then called the Inspector-General(IG) of Police; while the governor was speaking with the IG on phone, CP Mbu was shouting at the governor, on top of his voice, trying to disrupt the conversation between the Governor and the IG to the shock and disbelief of those that were there.
“It was when Governor Amaechi arrived Abuja later in the evening of yesterday that he was informed that Hon Chidi Lloyd was arrested in his(Lloyd’s) house in the presence of his family and lawyer. And Hon. Lloyds’ lawyer had confirmed that he was arrested in his house.”
