Majority Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Chidi Lloyd,
has recounted his ordeal in the hands of some lawmakers opposed to the
state Governor, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi, who were accused of being behind
the mayhem in the state legislature Tuesday.
There was
free-for-all in the House of Assembly which had reconvened after months
of suspending plenary to consider an amendment to the state’s 2013
budget.
He said the Assembly, having written to the state
Commissioner of Police, Mr Joseph Mbu, to provide security for the
plenary, the lawmakers were happy when they arrived at the assembly to
notice the presence of about 50 policemen, which they thought was in
response to the request by the Speaker, Hon. Otelemaba Amachree.
He
said: “We went in as members who have not seen ourselves for some time
because of the crisis in the state. I was on my seat, without
provocation, Hon. Evans Bipi came to me in the full glare of everybody
on camera and started raining punches on me. As his leader, I did not
react because I felt that it is something we could settle, whatever it
is, maybe I didn’t greet him also. So he continued when that continued,
the speaker intervened.
“Then he (Bipi) reached out for the
tripod that stands the camera, used it freely on me. He and Michael
Okechukwu Chinda, who later joined him in the attack, flogged me to
their satisfaction. I didn’t utter a word until Hon. Ihunwo graciously
asked me to run for my dear life because they had brought people with
guns and of course, when I looked at the gallery they were shouting who
is the Chidi Lloyd. Who is the Chidi Lloyd?
“So at that point,
I’m sure somebody may have reached out to the governor of the state who
came in with his own security because these other policemen were there
standing helplessly, watching what was going on. So he came and rescued
members out of the place. Then after a while we heard that they had sat,
that they were meeting, they were trying to meet, they had procured a
fake mace to the House, so we went back and I took the mace where they
were sitting, then I sustained injury as a result of the violence by
Michael Chinda and Evans Bipi.” Lloyd expressed concern over his safety
and urged well-meaning Nigerians to intervene in the crisis in Rivers
State before it leads to anarchy.
He said: “I’m so helpless; I
don’t know who to run to. I can’t go to the commissioner of police
because he is already in the arena; he’s already on the other side. I’m
appealing to well-meaning Nigerians to pray for me and my family. That
is the last hope we have resorted to and that we also urge the National
Assembly, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives not to turn the other way on the events in Rivers State.
This could lead to something that we cannot imagine.”
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