The Rivers State government has described as distorted and another attempt to hoodwink the public by the state Police Command of the circumstances that surrounded the arrest of the Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Chidi Lloyd.
According to s statement signed by Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s Chief Press Secretary, David Iyofor, the government said that the police account was a deliberate effort to discredit Governor Amaechi.
The statement claimed that contrary to the claim that Lloyd was arrested in the governor’s private jet, it said that Governor Amaechi has no private plane or jet and Hon. Lloyd was no where near the plane that took the governor from Port Harcourt to Abuja.
The statement further claimed that the governor was about to leave for Abuja when he was informed that the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mbu Joseph Mbu had ordered that the plane cannot leave Port Harcourt because Hon. Lloyd was in the plane and about to ‘escape’ with Governor Amaechi.
Iyofor said that several calls put across to CP Mbu were not answered only for him to show up later “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,” the statement further said.
According to the statement, it was at this point that Governor Amaechi then called the Inspector-General(IG) of Police and “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.”
The statement further claimed that it was when Governor Amaechi arrived Abuja later in the evening of Thursday that he was informed that Hon Chidi Lloyd was arrested in his(Lloyd’s) house in the presence of his family and lawyer.