Tragedy struck during a pro-Wike protest march in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, on Tuesday, resulting in the death of one person and serious injury to another due to an explosive device detonation.

The incident occurred near the Presidential Hotel in Port Harcourt at about 9:45 am. Although the Rivers State Police Command has not issued an official statement on the incident, reports indicate that the protesters were supporters of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

According to an eyewitness, a middle-aged man attempted to detonate an improvised explosive device but sustained serious injuries before he was taken away by people suspected to be his accomplices as security agents arrived.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State government has issued a directive following the failed explosive attempt.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adaeze Oreh, urged all public and private health facilities in the state to detain any young man presenting with a severely dismembered upper limb.

In a voice message to media houses in Port Harcourt, Oreh stated, “The Rivers State government has just received information about a failed attempt to detonate an explosive at the Hotel Presidential axis of Port Harcourt by mischievous and unscrupulous individuals. While condemning such malicious and failed attempt to disturb the peace of the state, the Rivers State Ministry of Health hereby calls on all public and private owned medical facilities to be on the alert and look out for a young man with an utterly dismembered upper limb as this injury was sustained in the process of attempting to detonate a device.”

She emphasized, “Such an individual and his accomplices, if presented at any of the facilities, should be immediately detained and reported to the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State and the Rivers State Ministry of Health.”

In response to the incident, the Commissioner for Police in Rivers State, Olatunji Disu, assured the public of the Police’s commitment to maintaining law and order. During a peaceful protest by a faction of the National Youth Council of Nigeria at the command headquarters in Port Harcourt, Disu reiterated the Police’s role in protecting lives and properties.

Disu affirmed, “I want to thank all of you for taking your time to come here today. First and foremost, I want to mention to you, my duty as a policeman is to protect lives and properties. And I give you my word that we are going to protect lives and properties. We are not politicians and we will do our best not to join their politics. I thank you so much for all you have done and the support you have given us. I assure you that we will continue to do our job of maintaining law and order. Rivers State is very important state to the economy of our great nation, Nigeria and there must not be breakdown of law and order.”

Earlier, the factional chairman of NYCN in Rivers State, Nwisabari Bani, expressed gratitude to the Police for their efforts in securing the state.

He stated, “We are here in clear terms and clear message, Rivers State is not at war. We are here to say to the Nigeria Police Force, ‘thank you’ in our very large number.”

Bani lamented the disparity in public perception, noting, “It is very sad that in our society, that when a man does something bad, we can pay our flight to Jupiter and back just to write it for people to see. But, when a man takes the right step, he becomes an enemy to few.”