The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has ordered men of the Rivers State Command to sustain the barricade of all local government secretariats in Rivers State.
The police took over and barricaded headquarters of all the local government areas following the tenure crisis in local government administration, which led to wild protests on Tuesday, saying it was to prevent further mayhem.
Egbetokun who made this known in Abuja, on Thursday, while addressing journalists on the sidelines of a conference with Commissioners of Police and other senior officers, the policemen will not leave the headquarters until a court judgement on the controversy over the tenure of local government council chairmen in the state.
He further explained that the presence of the police officers was to ensure peace and order and not to intimidate anyone, even as he reiterated the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force on the need for pre-emptive measures to forestall any escalation of violence.
“The police will continue to occupy the secretariats until a court of competent jurisdiction delivers judgment on the local government crisis in Rivers State,” he said.
