The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cried out over threats on the life of the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to State Chairman, Jerry Needam, pointing accusing fingers on the Commander of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in the State, Mr. Akin Fakorede.
PDP in a statement in Port Harcourt said information available affirms that some F-SARS officers are trailing Jerry Needam over the publication that exposed Akin Fakorede’s invasion of INEC Collation Center in Bori and the hijack of materials and the Electoral Officer (EO) as well as shooting of innocent Ogonis, adding that Akin Fakorede also in the process arrested PDP Assembly Candidate for Khana Constituency 2, Prince Ngbor, popularly called PIKORO.
The party disclosed that since after exposing these ignoble activities of the FSARS Commander, Jerry Needam has been receiving death threats from anonymous callers and text messages, threatening his life.
The party said it is still trying to come to terms as to why any sane individual would contemplate of harming Jerry Needam, a professional journalist who was duly accredited by INEC to cover the elections.
It noted that regardless of his position as media aide to State PDP Chairman, Jerry Needam is duty bound as a journalist to report the outcome of the elections as a social responsibility to the public.
The PDP declared that no amount of threat or intimidation by men of F-SARS would deter him from carrying out his constitutional obligation to members of the public.
“As a journalist and someone who is also a labourer in the vineyard of God, he is not expected to compromise what is right, just and fair”, PDP said, reaffirming that Akin Fakorede’s activities at the Bori Collation Center on Sunday, March 10, 2019 were condemnable and a threat to democracy in the country.
“Jerry Needam would never cease to speak against evil in all its ramifications and no amount of intimidation would cow him from saying the truth at all times”, the party stated.
“We expect that by now, the authorities of the Nigeria Police and other agencies, leaders of Rivers State, journalists, election observers, traditional leaders and all men and women of good conscience in the State would have risen to this challenge and condemn it.
“Election is not war and we cannot watch innocent people being killed in the name of hijack of materials by security agencies that are supposed to protect the people and election materials. If we are all killed, who will these desperate politicians in the All Progressives Congress, APC govern?”, the PDP said and urged all and sundry to be united in condemning these desperate moves to exterminate Rivers people and throw the State into avoidable crisis.
The PDP called on the international community, good people of Ogoni and Rivers State at large, human rights groups across the country and beyond, Christian community in Rivers State and Nigeria, to note that the life of Jerry Needam is under threat by men of the F-SARS.
“This is the handiwork of the Rotimi Amaechi faction of APC in the State, but we assure them, especially those Ogoni people in APC who are monitoring the movement of Jerry Needam and for no reason mentioning his name to FSARS officers that they will be disappointed because God will disappoint them”, the statement concluded.
