The Chief Security Officer (CSO) of Ahoada East Local Government Area in Rivers State, Hector Ekeakita, has come forward to deny reports that he led or supported an attack on the council’s sole administrator, Goodluck Iheamnacho.
Speaking during a recent interview on a television program, Ekeakita said that as the person responsible for the security of the local government area, it would not make sense for him to be involved in any assault on his superior. According to him, the allegations are false and surprising.
The controversy began last Friday when a letter claiming that Iheamnacho had resigned started circulating widely online. The letter, dated June 20, was reportedly addressed to Rivers State’s general sole administrator, Ibok-Ete Ibas. Not long after the letter went viral, a video surfaced showing a man believed to be Iheamnacho being physically attacked by several individuals.
Later, during a radio interview in Port Harcourt, Iheamnacho asked people to ignore the resignation letter. He explained that he was forced to sign it by some individuals who entered his office and attacked him. He said the resignation letter was not written voluntarily, but was presented to him by people he called hoodlums.
Following these events, the Rivers State Police Command confirmed that hoodlums had stormed the council office and forced Iheamnacho to sign the letter. Police spokesperson Grace Iringe-Koko noted that both Ekeakita and the council’s Chief of Staff were said to have led around 30 men to Iheamnacho’s office on the day of the attack. The police said both men have now been invited for questioning.
Ekeakita, however, maintains his innocence. He explained that on the day of the incident, he was in his own office when he heard noise coming from the administrator’s office. When he entered the office to check what was happening, he said Iheamnacho told him that the issue involved his political appointees, who were upset over unpaid allowances since May.
“He (Iheamnacho) asked me to shut the door that the matter is between him and his political appointees, who he has not paid since May. I had to go back to my office to continue my daily activities,” Ekeakita said.
He also noted that when the noise became louder, he tried calling the police, but his calls did not go through. When asked whether he called because of the attack or just the noise, he insisted it was due to how loud things had become at the time.
Ekeakita further questioned why he would harm someone he works closely with, saying, “As the CSO of the LGA, why will I do such a thing (attack)? Why would I venture into carrying hoodlums to attack the man I’m working with?”
