Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike says the state has suffered in the hands of the erstwhile Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The governor disclosed this on Tuesday while addressing the #EndSARS protesters in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
“Nobody has suffered, no state has suffered in the hands of SARS-like Rivers State,” Governor Wike said.
While decrying the killings of innocent Nigerians, Wike said that when he raised alarm on the loss of lives, he was accused of politicising the situation.
The governor called for police reforms in the country, asking the protesters to kick against bad governance.
“SARS can never be my friend. I will never support SARS, We have never supported SARS. The mistake we are making is that if you end SARS which they have ended, are they not the same police people?
“If they form another body, is it not the same police people? So what you require is the total reform of the police,” he said.
Wike also criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing his Special Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, as a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission representing Delta State.
For Wike, the development is a ploy by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig the general elections in 2023.
He, therefore, called on the people of the state to protest against the appointment, stressing that marching against police reform is not just enough.
His allegation comes shortly after President Buhari forwarded Onochie’s name and three others for confirmation by the Senate.
Other nominees listed are, Prof. Muhammad Sani Kallah (National Electoral Commissioner), Katsina; Prof. Kunle Cornelius Ajayi (National Electoral Commissioner), Ekiti; and Saidu Babura Ahmad (Resident Electoral Commissioner), Jigawa.
