Suspected political thugs on Friday night invaded a hotel in the Orazi axis of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, disrupting a live Arise Television interview with a former state commissioner, Dr Leloonu Nwibubasa.
The incident occurred around 9:15pm while Nwibubasa, a former Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, was being interviewed on Arise TV’s News Night programme on the political situation in the state.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants, who were reportedly armed, stormed the hotel, broke into rooms and allegedly searched for the former commissioner and the Arise TV cameraman. They were said to have forced doors open, seized phones from occupants and chanted in their local language, causing panic among hotel guests and staff.
It was gathered that the thugs later located the venue of the live interview and threatened both Nwibubasa and members of the Arise TV crew, forcing the interview to be abruptly discontinued.
A reporter with the Arise TV crew told journalists that he received a distress call from his colleague and immediately alerted the police control room while heading to the hotel. He said police officers, led by the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area, arrived at the scene and secured the premises.
According to him, the police, in conjunction with the hotel management, evacuated the former commissioner and the journalists and took them to the Kala Police Station, where statements were taken.
An Arise TV cameraman, identified as Promise, said some of his equipment, including a Sony Z280 camera, an industrial tripod, wireless microphones and other accessories, were seized by the assailants.
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“I had just finished filing a report from an earlier assignment and had commenced the live interview when two men storm the place and disrupted the programme,” he said, adding that the attackers made threats but fled on sighting the police.
Confirming the incident, Nwibubasa said he was safe and commended the police for their swift intervention. He, however, condemned the attack, describing it as a threat to democratic values.
“I was rounding off the interview and speaking about the 2027 general elections when they invaded the place. Breaking doors and searching for me is unacceptable in a free society,” he said.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, were unsuccessful, as calls and text messages sent to her as of Saturday morning had not been returned.