of Police in Rivers State, Mr. Joseph Mbu, than controversy. Since his
assumption of duty in February 2013, Mbu's time at the helm of police
affairs in Rivers has been enmeshed in incessant controversies.
Before Mbu was redeployed to Rivers, Commissioner Mohammed Indabawa
held sway at the state police command and his short period in office
was without controversies due to the smooth relationship between him
and the State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.
From the moment Mbu stepped into Rivers State, it was clear that he
did not come to town to be servile in dealing with the governor.
Mbu's entry to Rivers coincided with the buildup to the political
crisis currently affecting the state, especially with the Abuja High
Court ruling that ousted the Godspower Ake-led executive of the State
Peoples Democratic Party and the ushering in of the current executive
led by Mr. Felix Obuah.
Apparently, the first assignment for Mbu was to ensure that there was
no clash between Ake's group and the Obuah-led group of the PDP. It
can easily be recalled how several ex-militants marched to the main
gate of the Government House in Port Harcourt to protest against the
state governor. The protest was carried out in the full glare of
policemen who watched helplessly as the former militants bared their
minds against the seating governor.
Many protests and rallies followed the incident at the Government
House, even as the political atmosphere in the state became charged
beyond the expected. Mbu intervened and placed a ban on rallies. The
ban, however, came with a caveat that any group that wanted to embark
on a rally must apply for police permission before embarking on such
an exercise.
Within this time, Mbu had ordered the withdrawal of some policemen
serving as security aides to some top government officials like the
Chief of Staff, Government House, Chief Tony Okocha; the Speaker,
Rivers State House of Assembly, Mr. Otelemaba Dan-Amachree and some
council chairmen. Also the Secretary to the State Government, Mr.
George Feyii, was also stripped of his security details. The
development had created panic among the top government officials.
While the governor and Mbu had argued over the management of the
political crisis in the state, the police commissioner shocked many
Nigerians when he described Amaechi as a tyrant. The police
commissioner, who was reacting to the alarm raised by the state
governor on the rising crime rate in Rivers State, explained that
though he had always respected Amaechi, it was necessary for the
governor to reciprocate his (Mbu) gesture. Amaechi had earlier
lamented the increasing rate of kidnapping and armed robbery, and
expressed reservation over Mbu's commitment to tackle the situation
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