The Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State, Mr. Chris Finebone, in this interview with CHUKWUDI AKASIKE, alleges that Governor Nyesom Wike plans to use the Neighbourhood Safety Corps to oppress the opposition
Why is the APC against the Neighbourhood Safety Corps, which the state governor has said will assist the police to ensure security?
The APC is against the Neighbourhood Safety Corps because of several reasons. Principally, the Neighbourhood Safety Corps bill, which the governor recently signed into law, is fraught with several noxious, obnoxious and toxic clauses that will turn Rivers State into a killing field. For example, the law empowers the members of the Corps to carry arms and this is in conflict with the powers given to the police and other federal security agencies. In other words, the Neighbourhood Safety Corps is a state police established through the backdoor without the necessary safeguards. There are other provisions of the law which make it a time bomb that will incinerate the state. The control of the agency is totally in the hands of the PD, making it an armed wing of the party.
