The Rivers State Government has denied the claim by the state police command that it arrested Leader of the State House of Assembly, Chidi Lloyd at the Air force base Port Harcourt, while trying to escape in Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s chartered jet Thursday evening.
Lloyd, who still has a case pending in court for the attempted murder of his colleague, Michael Chinda, was arrested by the police for allegedly killing two persons; a police sergeant, Obadiah Urang and a political opponent identified as Kingsley Ejeuo, with his car.
But the state government described the police claims as lies, saying the lawmaker was nowhere near the plane that took Mr. Amaechi from Port Harcourt to Abuja neither was the aircraft a private jet as contained in the police’s statement.
A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Rivers State governor, David Iyofor said “In another attempt to hoodwink the public and discredit the Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, 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: “Governor Amaechi has no private plane or jet as claimed by the police and Hon. Lloyd was nowhere 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 (Thursday) 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”, he said.
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