Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has imposed a 24-hour total curfew for two weeks on the entire area around the Okoro-Nu-Odu flyover in Rumuokoro, in a bid to arrest the drift in cult-related clashes and other violent crimes in the community.
In a statewide broadcast, on Sunday, the governor warned that government would not spare any efforts at dealing with anyone who decided to disturb peace and security of the state with cult activities and associated violence and killings.
Governor Wike explained that decision to impose the curfew became necessary after the State Security Council met and reviewed the security situation on Sunday in Port Harcourt.
The Rivers State Government, the distraught governor added, was seriously disturbed by the recent upsurge in cult activities and related violence and killings around the adjoining areas of the Okoro-Nu-Odu flyover in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
He regretted that despite the state government’s repeated warning that engaging in cultism had anti-social effects on the society, some misguided youths continued to engage in the unwholesome activity.
“As part of measures to tackle this menace, therefore, Government has imposed a 24-hour total curfew for two weeks on the entire area along and around the Okoro-nodu flyover up to one-kilometre radius from Saint Emmanuel Anglican Church, Rumuokoro, extending to the Rumuodomaya Slaughter and Local Government daily market with effect from Monday 23rd November 2020,” Wike announced.
To that effect, all forms of trading activities in the area are banned, just as “no form of human or vehicular movement is allowed within the aforementioned restricted areas until further notice. Only staff and vehicles belonging to Julius Berger Nigeria Limited are exempted from the curfew and associated restrictions on movement so that construction work on the Okoro-Nu-Odu flyover is not stalled.”
The governor also directed security agencies to enforce strictly, compliance with the curfew directive; arrest and summarily prosecute any person, trader or vehicle that might attempt to violate the curfew order.
“Again, we wish to warn that community leaders that allow cultism and related activities to thrive unabated in their communities would be treated as collaborators to the resulting crimes and dealt with accordingly,” the governor further warned.
“We urge all citizens to be part of the efforts to curb cultism in the State by reporting any suspicious cult activity, including gatherings and initiations in or around their neighbourhoods to the security agencies for immediate action,” he pleaded.
Governor Wike disclosed that the state government would construct the 7th flyover in Port Harcourt to traverse Ikokwu to Azikiwe Street, and called on residents of Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor Local Government Areas to bear with the State government on the traffic challenges that they might encounter in connection with the ongoing construction of the Oro-Abali and other flyovers.
“As you know our promise to construct five flyovers to ease the perennial traffic challenges and accelerate socio-economic development of the State is well on course. we delivered and commissioned the first of the initial five flyovers, (the Rebisi flyover) to the glory of God and the good of our State, while construction work on the rest has reached advanced levels of completion,” he noted.
According to him, “The Okoro-nu-do flyover is next on the line to be delivered and commissioned, latest, in the first quarter of 2021.”
Two days ago, it would be recalled, the State Executive Council approved the award of the contract for the constructing of the sixth flyover along the Oro-Abali (Kaduna street) intersection of Aba road to Julius Berger Nigeria Limited.