A faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party in Rivers State has expressed grave concerns over the possibility of an outbreak of guerilla warfare in the region following a bomb explosion on Tuesday, according to reports from Vanguard.
The powerful blast occurred at the Hotel Presidential Axis of Port Harcourt, leaving local residents on edge.
In a statement released on Wednesday, APC faction spokesman Darlington Nwauju said the detonation of the improvised explosive device (IED) was "worrisome" and appeared to be part of a "stage-managed" protest organized to justify calls for a state of emergency declaration in Rivers.
"The protests appear to be orchestrated and stage-managed to justify their call for State of Emergency, even where no such situation ordinarily exists," Nwauju said.
He noted that the incident was reminiscent of a bombing at an APC campaign venue in January 2023 that left six party members injured.
The APC faction is now challenging local police authorities to thoroughly investigate the sponsors and leaders of the June 25th protest, many of whom Nwauju described as "known political honchos" and "apostles and sympathizers of the call for a state of emergency."
"Their modus operandi which is now common knowledge is that whatever they want to launch, they first raise public outcry and point fingers to the opposite direction to deceive the public," he added.
Nwauju expressed frustration over the lack of progress in previous police investigations into political violence in Rivers, lamenting that "like other very disturbing acts of violence against the opposition and security breaches that occurred in the lead-up to the 2023 elections, it has been a matter of cover-up or 'the more you look, the less you see.'"
The APC faction believes the remote reason for the latest protests is the recent shutting down of local government council secretariats in the state, which the group claims is being used as a pretext for "scare-mongering and instilling fear in residents and investors."
Nwauju argued that the police's physical occupation of workspaces is "completely out of tune with modern realities" and disconnected from any potential court decisions on the matter.