The Rivers State Police Command has denied stopping a scheduled procession for late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, also known as Mohbad, in Port Harcourt on Saturday, insisting that the procession held successfully.
Some residents of Port Harcourt and fans of the late singer had alleged that the candlelight procession in honour of the late musician in the metropolis was stalled by the police who prevented them from gathering.
It was gathered that despite the directive cancelling the #Justice for Mohbad procession, some of the residents showed up at an alternative venue, but later left due to the poor turnout.
One of the organisers simply identified as Gbemisola refuted the claims of the police, saying the State Commissioner of Police, invited him to his office and asked him to call off the procession.
Gbemisola expressed disappointment that the police could turn around after the organisers officially applied and got police approval.
He further said that even after they agreed to suspend the planned procession, which the police said could disturb public peace, they decided to shift the date and retire to a private facility to do a candlelight and tribute concert for the late singer on Saturday, but were surprised when information filtered in that the Department of State Services asked them not to even gather.
He stated, “We came to honour him (Mohbad), give him our last respect. So, we wrote to them (police), they received the letter, stamped it and everything.
“So, the Commissioner of Police called that I should come to the office. So, I went there with the boss of Edy’s Wine Bar. And the next thing he said was we shouldn’t hold it, we shouldn’t do any procession on the street.
“So, we had to shift it, and say since we won’t disturb public peace let’s go to GRA, to a confine space at Edy’s Wine Bar and hold it.
“We have done the press statement and sent out a new graphic design for Saturday. So, this evening, I heard that the DSS are in Edy’s Wine Bar telling us that we shouldn’t gather at all even tomorrow.
“And you know most of the persons here didn’t get the information that it has been postponed for tomorrow. We were not working on the streets. But the DSS were already at Edy’s Wine Bar saying we shouldn’t even hold it tomorrow.”
But when contacted, spokesperson for the state Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, faulted the claims of the organisers, saying the procession was held successfully.
Iringe-Koko, further said even though the organisers did not apply for approval, the Command decided to give them protection led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations.
The state police image maker said whoever said the police stopped the rally was doing so to portray the force in bad light.
She stated, “Police did not stop any rally; the police did not stop anyone from protesting. They came out and did it successfully. We even provided security for them; it was the rain that obstructed them. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, operations was the one in charge of it.
“They did not apply, but once we heard from the Command, we provided adequate security for them and they went on with their procession peacefully.
“Anybody saying that (police stopped the rally) is just trying to paint us black. The procession went on successfully and adequate security was provided. It was the rain that disrupted them.”
