The Afenifere Youth Progressive Front (AYPF) has strongly condemned the dynamite explosion that occurred among the pro-Wike protesters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Tuesday.
The group expressed concern that the purported protest, which was organised by top political leaders from Obio/Akpor to show solidarity for the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, turned violent when one of the protesters died while attempting to detonate a dynamite, causing increased tension in the state.
In a statement signed by its President, Comrade Adelowo Rotimi Johnson, AYPF stated that the actions of the pro-Wike protesters were “completely unacceptable.”
Johnson described the act as “terrorism and an extreme form of political expression.”
He said the incident is a stark reminder of the dangerous trajectory that politics has taken in Nigeria.
Johnson urged the Federal Government to immediately distance itself from “this wicked and callous behaviour by rascals” pretending to be President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s supporters in Rivers.
He also called on law enforcement agencies to fish out the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
“The Afenifere Youth Progressive Front (AYPF) totally condemns the fatal dynamite explosion that occurred among the pro-Wike protesters in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. The heinous act perpetrated by criminals posing as political supporters is totally unacceptable,” the statement said.
“The actions of the pro-Wike protesters is a full-blown act of terrorism and an extreme form of political expression. Their actions have heightened tension in Rivers, forcing peace-loving residents to live in fear.
“Afenifere Youth Progressive Front calls on the Federal Government at this time to distance itself from this wicked and callous behaviour by rascals who are pretending to be President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s supporters in Rivers State.
“Their actions do not in any way represent the Renewed Hope agenda of the Asiwaju’s administration.
“We also call on the law enforcement agencies to fish out the armed protesters and prosecute them in order to address the issue of recurrent criminality in the state.
“The AYPF urges Rivers people to remain calm and be security vigilant in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the state by the armed pro-Wike protesters.”
