Abe had arrived the Rivers State College of Arts and Science, Rumuola, venue of the rally organized by a political group, the Save Rivers Movement, in company of the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Tony Okocha, to inspect the venue preparatory to the take-off of the rally slated for 1.00pm.
The rally was organized by the group to mobilise support for Governor Rotimi Amaechi and the APC in the state. It was billed be the third in the series scheduled to be held by the group in all the 23 local government areas of the state.
About 300 policemen however invaded the venue and shot tear gas to disperse party leaders who also came to coordinate effects leading to the rally.
In the melee, Senator Magnus Abe was said to have been shot with rubber bullets in the chest and leg. Witnesses said the police arrived the venue at about 7.20am, some positioned themselves in strategic locations while others moved in to dismantle canopies, chairs and loud speakers set up for the event .
Senator Abe was alleged to have been hit twice in the chest and leg by the rubber bullets as he was about to enter the venue. Other politicians including Tony Okocha were said to have escaped unhurt.
Abe was rushed to a private hospital at the Agundama area of Port Harcourt, where he was attended to by a group of medical personnel led by the Medical Director, Dr. Mackay Anyanwu, who told reporters that he was suffering from severe blood shock and was likely to have haemorrhage.
‘’The patient (Abe) was brought in a state of a shock, as evidenced by the low blood pressure he had. He was restless and couldn’t communicate or reason coherently’’, the doctor said.
‘’As a first aid, we treated him for traumatic shock, because the implication of his state was that there was severe blood trauma and the amount of layers affected could not be detected immediately. This can only be done through haemorrhoid tests’’, he added.
He noted that Abe was in a critical but stable condition, adding that he would be placed on 24-hour monitoring. But the Rivers state police spokesman Ahmad Mohammed denied that the senator was shot with rubber bullets, saying the police did not fire any bullet at the rally. He argued that Abe left the venue of the rally with Tony Okocha.
“Police stopped the rally because the organizers did not apply to the police for a permit. They had not applied for permit to hold a rally. So the police had to disperse them. They were telling lies about the application for the rally. There is no way police would have shot the senator because he left the venue with Chief of Staff to the Governor. So there is no way he would have been shot”, he said.
Commissioner for Information Ibim Seme-nitari said the attack and alleged shooting of Senator Abe was an indication of the length the PDP was willing to silence opposing views.
“Rivers State government has it on good authority that Abe took the bullet originally meant for Governor Amaechi who was billed to be present at the event. This is disconcerting especially in the light of recent revelations that the presidency may be training snipers ahead of the 2015 elections and Governor Amaechi is top on the list”
“We request the federal government and its agencies to respect the rules of democratic engagement in their misguided fight against the people of Rivers State and save the nation from chaos ahead of 2015 election”, she stated.
