Rivers lawyer regains freedom, APC, PDP disagree over abduction

The All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has confirmed that one of its lawyers, Dr Godswill Dike, who was allegedly kidnapped by protesters, has been released.

The spokesman for the party’s 2023 Campaign Council, Sogbeye Eli, confirmed the development to our correspondent in a telephone interview on Friday.

Eli said, “Yes, I have been told he has been freed although I have not established contact with him. When I speak with him I will be able to give you the other details.”

Similarly, the party’s Publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju, confirmed that Dike had regained his freedom in a post on his Facebook page seen on Friday morning.

The post read, “Dr Godswill Uche Dike Esq is free… much thanks to all our friends in the media for showing courage and acting as responsible watchdog of society.”

Dike, who is brother to the state APC legal adviser, Azubuike Dike, was kidnapped at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission by alleged PDP protesters after he took delivery of some election documents given to him by the commission.

However, it could not be confirmed if the CTC documents taken from Dike by his captors had been recovered.

Meanwhile, Eli had explained that there was an erroneous belief in the public domain that the APC and the PDP were involved in a squabble, saying “There is nothing like that. The PDP is the aggressor. We (APC) are not in any kind of fight with them. They are the ones attacking us and that is clear for all to see.”

Meanwhile, the PDP’s protest at the INEC office along Aba Road in Port Harcourt entered its fifth day on Friday.

PDP members and their supporters returned to the INEC office on Friday morning and continued their demand for a joint inspection of election materials.

Speaking to our correspondent, the PDP Publicity Secretary, Sydney Gbara, said the protest would go on until they were addressed by INEC based on their demands.

Some PDP supporters had laid siege to the INEC office on Thursday evening which led to the abduction of Dike. The protesters barricaded the gate, preventing INEC staff from leaving.