The crisis in Rivers State has gone out of control, escalating into violence, killing, maiming, breaking down of law and order, as three local government secretariats were torched by suspected thugs shortly after the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, withdrew the policemen guarding the council premises.
The development disrupted the planned resumption of the 23 newly elected local government chairmen and the swearing-in of 314 councillors.
Despite the opposition to the poll by the state’s ruling party, Fubara swore in the newly elected council chairmen at the Executive Council Chamber of the Government House in Port Harcourt, on Sunday.
The council election was won by Fubara’s allies in the Action Peoples Party which secured 22 out of 23 chairmanship positions, while the Action Alliance candidate won one seat.
The APP also won 314 out of the 319 councillorship seats in the 23 LGAs in the state.
However few hours after the elected LG chairmen attempted to enter the secretariats to swear in their councillors, gunshots and violence broke out in some areas.
In Ahoada East Local Government Area, as the chairman and his councillors tried to access the secretariat, loud gunshots rent the air.
As a violent protest erupted in front of the council, a detachment of policemen was deployed to quell the situation which later got out of hand.
The policemen were forced to fire several gunshots into the air to disperse the crowd, and soldiers arrived at the scene and allegedly took over the secretariat.
A relative of the Chief of Staff, Rivers State Government House, Edison Ehie, was reportedly shot dead during the ruckus, confirming the incidence was the state Secretary of the Inter-State Party Advisory Council, Benjamin Ogbobula.
The Special Assistant on Electronic Media to the Rivers State Governor, Jerry Omatsogunwa, condemned the violence that erupted in the state, even as he described as wicked, those calling for the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers.
Omatsogunwa stated, “Is that not witchcraft? That is pure witchcraft.  I think four states held an election on Saturday, the same time as the Rivers State election and those people have been sworn in, nobody has called for a state of emergency in those states.
‘’So far, out of the 26 states that were running caretaker before the Supreme Court came and gave that window of three months, nobody has called for a declaration of state of emergency in those states. That is so wicked, that is so barbaric and it’s not fit for modern-day society. The wickedness of the highest order.’’
Speaking further, the media aide asked President Bola Tinubu to ignore those suggesting an emergency rule in the state.
He noted, “We have problems in some Northern states where other things are happening, yet nobody has called for a state of emergency. They gave a window for election, the state high court has said go ahead with the election, what the Federal high court did is okay, police aren’t involved in the election.’’
He further said, “You (journalists) went round to cover the election, did you see any police anywhere? And this is the most peaceful election. I can tell you the police were interlopers; they were looting and carting away materials to cause a crisis.
‘’So, as far as I’m concerned, the election went well and the people have been sworn in, there is no need to call for such wicked order to be carried out in Rivers State. Is it up to what has happened in Borno state; Is it up to what has happened in Plateau state where villages were burnt down?’’
Omatsogunwa castigated the police for allegedly failing to discharge their responsibility of protecting the people.
 “And by the way, what is the duty of the police? Is their duty not to protect lives and property? The people that came to Obio/Akpor today, for instance, to shoot for over 30 minutes, did the police come out to chase them away?
‘’Is the order they gave them that they shouldn’t work in Rivers State again? If we know they’re not working, we should just devise a way to protect ourselves at the end of the day.
 “If the police know that they are not working because they asked them to leave the secretariat that they unlawfully occupied, then everybody should be able to protect themselves. But I pray that the government doesn’t push people that they now decide to defend themselves.”