Wike had recently accused the Nigerian Army of engaging in partisan politics.
In a swift reacting, the Nigeria Army had accused the Rivers state government of arming political thugs with dangerous weapons to unleash mayhem in the state.
However, the centre in a report released on Tuesday, claimed Wike was being tormented by the fear of judgment of the election petition tribunal in the state.
The centre in the report identified some factors that pitched the Nigerian Army against and Governor Wike to include; refusal by the GOC 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Jamil Sharham to compromise on the security arrangement in place as directed by the Chief of Army Staff.
Governor Wike in the report was also accused of making several mouth-watering overtures to the GOC, that included offers of millions of dollars but were turned down.
Solomon Adodo , Executive Director of the centre, who signed the report, called on the Nigerian Human Rights Commission to investigate the root cause of the post election violence in Rivers State and Wike’s alleged involvement in the melee.
The report below.
The recently conducted Gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections in Rivers State, South-South Nigeria came with its attendant security challenges that gave rise to the postponement of the polls having declared the first round of voting inconclusive. This indeed generated a beehive of issues that made it practically impossible for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct supplementary elections in the state.
The Rivers state governor Nyesome Wike in the wake of the impasse had accused the Nigerian Army of engaging in partisan politics, while on the other hand the Nigeria Army had accused the Rivers state government of arming political thugs with dangerous weapons to unleash mayhem in the state, especially in areas that are perceived as political strongholds of the opposition party in the state.
The atmosphere was tensed, and there were a lot of skirmishes that resulted in deaths of innocent people, including an army officer in the state. It was speculated that the governor of the state, Nyesome Wike in an attempt to have his way at all cost offered some mouth-watering incentives to the General Officer Commanding Nigerian Army 6 Division in Rivers state, Major General Jamil Sarham.
Consequently, in a bid to put paid the speculations surrounding the various allegations on the role of the Nigerian Army during the elections in Rivers state, an independent report that was devoid of government interference was commissioned.
In a bid to ensure that the general elections were free, fair, and credible, one of the measures put in place by the federal government was to ensure that there was adequate security in states that were termed volatile going by previous elections. This much required that all hands must be on deck to ensure that election violence does not escalate and disrupt the polls.
The Nigerian Army joined the fray of security architecture for the elections by launching a nationwide operation tagged Operations Python Dance III to checkmate violent groups and ethnic militia to ensure a successful 2019 elections.
The Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike had stated that the negative role played by the Nigerian Army during the elections was the worst in the history of the country. He subsequently requested that the General Officer Commanding 6 Division of the Nigerian Army in Rivers State. Major General Jamila Sharham is redeployed.
After intense scrutiny of the issues and the role played by the various political actors and parties, it was discovered that what transpired in Rivers State during the elections was a power struggle between an incumbent governor fighting a battle for survival and an opposition hell-bent on wrestling power by all means available. And this amounted to a tensed atmosphere in the state that required both parties to put forward their best strategies, including the active use of violence and propaganda to achieve their objective.
Our team of researchers identified some factors that pitched the Nigerian Army against the governor of Rivers state, and they include; refusal by the GOC 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Jamil Sharham to compromise on the security arrangement in place as directed by the Chief of Army Staff.
Governor Nyesom Wike made several mouth-watering overtures to the GOC, that included offers of millions of dollars all to no avail. It was gathered that Nyesome Wike could not stomach the rejection of his overtures by the Army commander and consequently launched a character assassination campaign against Major General Jamil Sharlam.
It was also discovered that part of the issues that affected the relationship between the state government and the Nigerian Army was also the refusal of the Army commander to be a part of the ploy by Nyesome Wike to concoct 3.5 million votes for the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) during the presidential elections.
This was said to have infuriated the governor so much that he vowed to discredit the operations of the Nigerian Army in Rivers state before the local and international media, and to also ensure that their operations in the state were frustrated by the people.
The Role of Security Agencies:
Our team of researchers was able to gather from reliable sources that the bulk of the security operatives in Rivers state during the elections were compromised by the governor of Rivers state who doled out huge incentives. It was realized that the directive dished out by the governor was to ensure that the security operatives work hand in hand with INEC officials to be able to deliver 3.5 million votes for the PDP presidential candidates during the elections.
This plan was not successfully carried out because of the refusal of the Nigerian Army to be a part of the ploy. It was gathered that the refusal of the Nigerian Army to be a part of the ploy indeed frustrated the governor and his cronies who thought all was already in the pipeline for a smooth ride.
The Infiltration of Arms and ammunition in Rivers State during the elections:
It was gathered that the Rivers state government procured arms and distributed same to political thugs loyal to the People’s Democratic Party in the state. This much was highlighted during the elections when political thugs exchanged gun shots with the Nigeria Army that resulted in the deaths of some persons including an army officer.
Why Nyesom Wike is after Major General Jamil Sharham:
It was reliably gathered by our team of researchers from sources in Rives state government house that after the elections, the Governor vowed to pay the Army Commander in his coin for having the audacity not to work for his plan as the governor of the state.
The governor consequently launched several campaigns of calumny against the army commander. Sources added that several millions of naira had been earmarked for the execution of the project. Part of the ploy is that the governor would grant media briefings both in print and radio to continue to discredit the Army commander before the eyes of unsuspecting members of the public.
After a careful analysis of the events the characterized the elections in Rivers state, this report was able to identify that the crux of the disagreement between the Nigerian Army and the Rivers state government was centred principally on the insistence of the Nigerian Army to be neutral and fair to all during the elections in line with the mandate given to it by the Army hierarchy.
The Rivers state government attempted to pitch the population against the Nigerian Army by propounding that the Nigerian Army was carrying out the scrip of a former governor in the state and said to be against the interest of the state. All of these indeed made the operations of the Nigerian Army in Rivers state during the elections an extremely difficult one.
It is therefore highly recommended that the Nigerian Human Rights Commission should investigate the state-sponsored violence during the elections in River state and those found guilty are brought to book and compensation paid to families of those that lost their lives.
The infiltration of arms in Rivers state is also alarming, and it is consequently advised that the police be mandated to begin the process of mopping up these arms from the possession of the political thugs in the state.