A bomb explosion on Monday was said to have rocked Rivers State High Court, Ahoada, shortly before the court could hear a case on the crisis in the state House of Assembly.
Justice Charles Wali was to hear a suit instituted by the speaker of the House, Otelemaba Amachree, and others seeking an injunction to restrain a member, Evans Bipi, from parading himself as the speaker of the Assembly when the incident occurred.
The judge had last month adjourned the suit to January 6.
Ibim Semenitari, the Rivers State information commissioner, confirmed the explosion.
She said only one explosive went off near the building where the NBA secretariat was located, adding that two others were yet to go off when the police arrived to detonate them.
Bipi, a loyalist of supervising minister of education, Nyesom Wike, is the leader of a group of six lawmakers opposed to the state governor, Chibuike Amaechi.
Last month, Wali, while ruling on an ex-parte brought by Amachree, his deputy, Leyii Kwanee, and others, ordered Bipi, who represents Ogu Bolo State Constituency in the state legislature, to stop parading himself as speaker pending the determination of the suit brought before the court.
The legislature has been embroiled in crisis since July 9 when Bipi-led group attempted to remove Amachree as speaker.
The unsuccessful attempt resulted in violence that led to the sealing off of the Assembly complex by the police. But the Rivers police command said on Monday that it removed an explosive device, suspected to be dynamite, dumped at the premises of the Ahoada High Court in the state. It did not state that any of the devices exploded.
Ahmad Mohammad, the command’s public relations officer, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt that the device was uncovered at the court’s premises following a tip-off.
According to Muhammad, a deputy superintendent of police, the police immediately mobilised, condoned off the area and removed the objects.
“Our anti-bomb disposal unit successfully removed the device and there was no explosion”, he said.
Meanwhile, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has accused the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the bombing, saying, “We are aware that the present PDP in Rivers State under Chief Wike is violence prone but we wish to reiterate that no amount of violence and intimidation will cause us to surrender the mandate freely given to us by the Rivers State people to a group that have demonstrated total disdain to democratic principles.”
Continuing, Chwukwuemeka Eze, SSA, media and public affairs to the interim state chairman, APC, said, “Record exposing the agenda of this misguided group (PDP) for Rivers State and her people as violence prone was exhibited few days ago when security agencies in Rivers State caught six youths with various sophisticated and dangerous arms at Ogu the home town of Senator Sekibo and Hon Bipi”.
