Buildings and other property were shattered in the early hours of Saturday as explosives suspected to be dynamite shattered the secretariat of the All Progressives Congress along Aba Road in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.
The explosion brought down the gate of the secretariat while doors, windows, and other property were destroyed.
This is the second time the Chief Tony Okocha-led APC would be experiencing such an attack at its secretariat this year.
This came as the local government elections are set to be held in the state today as the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission said on Friday that all sensitive materials have been distributed to the various local government areas.
A viral video of the incident scene seen by our correspondent showed some workers at the facilities going around to ascertain the extent of damage.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she had yet to get a report on it but promised to revert.
The party has yet to make a statement on the incident.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has said that its members will be participating fully as observers in the 5th October 2024 Local Government election in Rivers State because there is no legal impediment against it.
Their position was contained in a communique, signed by all eight chairmen of the Branches of NBA in Rivers State, which was read to newsmen at the Conference Hall of NBA Building in Port Harcourt late on Friday.
The Chairperson of Port Harcourt Branch of NBA, Cordelia U. Eke, who read the communique on behalf of the other chairmen, said it is trite that statutory bodies cannot be stopped from performing their Constitutional duties.
Eke said that Local Government elections are part of the democratic process of Nigeria as provided for in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
She emphasized that because it is sanctioned by law, the Local Government election in Rivers State cannot be an exception.
Eke insisted: “Given the forthcoming elections in Rivers State, on behalf of the eight Branches of the Nigerian Bar Association in the State, we wish to state as follows:
“As we all know, there are several court judgments on the Rivers State Local Government Election issue which are already widely circulated in the social media.
“Sadly, most of these judgments are from courts of coordinate jurisdiction, and have been subject to diverse interpretations.”
Eke stated that they do not want to over-flog the issues that are on the ground already or stoke the embers that are already burning.
She, however, said it was imperative to reiterate that the Constitution of Nigeria is the ground from which all Government agencies and institutions derive their validity and are bound to obey same.
“We also emphasize that any law or judgment that is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution, is null and void, to the extent of its inconsistency.
“Security agencies have the constitutional duty of maintaining law and order in the country, but if they choose to abdicate their constitutional role, then, it ridicules our democracy and our Constitution.”