Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Barely three day after threat that residents of the State will be forced to take any measures they deem necessary if the persistent demands by the government that Akin Fakarode, the Commander of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, FSARS, be redeployed was not heeded, one of the local governments in the State on Friday issued a quit notice to the crime fighting body.
Obio-Akpor local government council, in a quit notice signed by its Legal Adviser, Victor Owhonda, ordered FSARS to leave its base at the council’s International Market, Rukpouku within 30 days.
The Legal Adviser said the directive was to enable the local government carry out necessary renovation works in the International Market as part of its development policy and bring the market to the purpose for which it was built.
Owhonda dismissed the insinuations that action was orchestrated by the Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, who had campaigned persistently for the transfer of Fakarode out of the state.
According to the Legal Adviser, “The notice is clear that Council want to possess it property to carry out renovation so that the International Market will to be put into use for which it was originally meant. It nothing to do with the issues SARS has with the state government.”
Not a few will doubt the explanation of the lawyer. Emma Okah, Rivers Commissioner of Information and Communications in a press conference at Government House on Monday itemized alleged crimes of Fokarede-led SARS in the state while he repeated the request of his boss for redeployment of the SARS Commander.
However, it was learnt that the Police Commander is insisting that FSARS was not occupying any property belonging to Obio-Akpor local government council.
According to him, the property was handed over during the administration of former Governor Rotimi Amaechi to FSARS through the Rivers State Police Command.
He advised Obio-Akpor local government council to check its facts and get it right.