Bello Zech

*OPEN REPLY TO THE DELTA STATE POLICE COMMAND AND THE DELTA STATE GOVERNMENT ON THE ASABA KILLING* We have read with pain and anger, the statements by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, and the Commissioner for Works and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, on the killing of one person and injuring of five others along Nnebisi Road, Asaba on Saturday during a peaceful procession by the Obidient/OK Movement in support of Mr. Peter Obi. We condemn the killing. But we reject the attempt to blame the victims for their own murder. Let us be clear: *This was not a coincidence. This was not a mere "clash." This was a conceived action plan.* *1. A Conceived Plan To Attack, Harm And Silence The Opposition* What happened in Asaba is part of a deliberate, well-planned strategy to continuously attack opposition parties, expose them to harm, and then use that same violence as an excuse to declare " *no street rally."* The pattern is now too clear to ignore: First, deny the opposition access to public facilities — stadiums, fields, halls,schools town halls,etc. Second, when they are forced to use the road, which is their constitutional right, allow thugs to attack them. Third, after the attack, the Police and Government will come out to say "we warned them" and "they should have used a designated venue." Fourth, use the bloodshed as justification to ban opposition rallies altogether. *That is the plan. Attack them, blame them, then ban them.* The ultimate goal is not peace. The ultimate goal is to use state power to bar the NDC and other opposition parties from campaigning in Delta State, while the APC campaigns freely everywhere. We see it. Deltans see it. Nigerians see it. *2. If you had intelligence, what did you do with it?* The Police said they received intelligence suggesting a likelihood of violence before the procession. They said they invited the organisers and advised them to cancel. That is not policing. That is abdication. If you had credible intelligence that an attack was being planned, your duty under the Police Act and the Constitution was to: - Identify the planners, - Arrest and interrogate them, - Deploy men to protect the procession, - Secure the route, - And prevent the attack. Why was no one arrested BEFORE the attack? Why was no suspect picked up? Why did you wait until after one Nigerian was killed and five injured, to now say investigations are ongoing? Intelligence without action is useless. If you knew, why did you allow the killers to strike? Or was the intelligence itself part of the plan to warn the victims, not the attackers? *3. Why is the security report always negative only when it is the opposition?* Whenever the NDC, Obidient Movement, or any opposition party wants to hold a rally, suddenly there is a "security threat." Suddenly the Police advise them to cancel or go to a "designated venue." But when the APC holds its rallies, road shows, and open street processions in Asaba, Warri, Ughelli and other towns, there is never a security threat. There is never a warning. There is never a police advice to cancel. Is violence only possible when the opposition gathers? Is APC immune to security threats in Delta State? If the Police are truly neutral, let them publish the security reports for APC rallies in the last six months. Let Deltans see if the same warnings were given.Until then, this looks like selective policing to suppress the opposition.