The Niger Delta Congress (NDC) has faulted the threat of possible violence against peaceful demonstrators in Rivers State by the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd).
National spokesperson, Mudiaga Ogboru, condemned the alleged threat in a statement he issued on Thursday.
Ogboru said the alleged violence would be a tool of repression against protesters who have condemned the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
He noted that the Sole Administrator’s media aide, Hector Igbikiowubo, recently granted an interview to a media house, stating that the Solad has “sweeping powers” and the protests against him were a“test of his (Igbikiowubo’s) will.
Ogboru said: “It has come to the notice of the Niger Delta Congress (NDC) of possible sinister plans by Vice Admiral Ibok Ette Ibas to unleash violence against peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators in Rivers State under the guise of having “sweeping powers.
This violence would be a tool of repression to silence dissenting voices against the Federal Government-backed unconstitutional hijack of Rivers State.
In a statement attributed to one Hector Igbikiowubo, a media aide to Mr Ibas, and reported in the Punch Newspaper of Thursday 24th April, 2025, under the headline “Rivers Protesters testing my will, Ibas warns”, Hector Igbikiowubo‘s allusion to the “sweeping powers” of Mr Ibas is a massive call for concern to all patriots and lovers of democracy.
„The NDC recalls similar ‚sweeping powers‘ deployed just a few years ago to repress peaceful demonstrators during the End SARS protest of October 2020, against police brutality, which led to the killing of young Nigerians by security agents.“
The group declared that, while it is resolute in its condemnation of the state of emergency, Rivers people and Nigerians should take note of the language of the Solad to unleash violence on peaceful demonstrators in the state.
The NDC‘s spokesperson recalled that in one of their protests with members of the Take it Back (Tib) group in the state, security operatives had adopted brutal approaches against them, thereby causing bodily harm and loss of valuables to demonstrators and journalists covering the protest.
Ogboru declared: „Whilst we stand resolute in the face of tyranny in its various forms, we urge the people of Rivers State and Nigeria to take these threats seriously as it shows that the violent attacks against NDC and Take it Back members in recent times in the state were deliberate attempts on the lives of peaceful demonstrators and journalists, but most especially on the NDC leadership.
„These included the abduction, false imprisonment and subjection to duress of our President by the Nigeria Police Force on 26th March 2025, and the use of live ammunition, teargas, and other forms of violence against peaceful demonstrations in Rivers State led by the NDC and TiB on 7th April. As a result, several members of the NDC and Tib were in various levels of need for medical treatment, including some who had to be hospitalised.“
According to the spokesperson, the NDC‘s seeming silence in this regard stems from pleas by Rivers elders and planned legal actions by the NDC, not cowardice.
The group, therefore, warned that any violence exacted against Rivers people demonstrating their inalienable fundamental human rights as protected by the Nigerian constitution and the African Charter, would be seen as a serious provocation by the Solad and would be resisted legally.
Ogboru appealed: „This being said, we urge Rivers people to continue to stand resolute against the injustices of the Nigerian State without fear, as the NDC stands with them.
„We, on this note, call for even more peaceful demonstrations and protests against the unlawful undemocratic administration of Rivers State, which has only been made possible by a civilian coup.“
