The Niger Delta Congress (NDC) national President, Nubari Saatah, arrested and detained by the police in Rivers State.
Saatah’s arrest was in connection with a call by the NDC for a peaceful protest against President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspension of the Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the House of Assembly.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAccording to a report by FIJ, Saatah was arrested on Tuesday evening by the police and detained at the Octopus division in Diobu, Port Harcourt.
Earlier, Prime Business Africa reported that the Lagos State Police Command invited the NDC national spokesperson, Comrade Mudiaga Ogboru, for interrogation over the call for protest.
In the Police invitation letter dated 24 March 2025 and signed by an assistant commissioner in charge of the state intelligence unit, Lagos State Command, Ogboru was asked to appear at the station in GRA, Ikeja on Tuesday, 25 March 2025.
In a statement signed by the NDC national spokesperson, the group which says it is representing the unified voice of ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta, called for protest to demand the reversal of the emergency rule as well as the suspension of Governor Fubara, his deputy and members of the state House of Assembly.
It argued that the political tension in Rivers State caused by a feud between FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and his predecessor, Governor Fubara, does not warrant a declaration of a state of emergency in the oil-rich state.
The group asserted that the action of the Tinubu-led Federal Government is not a measure to ensure national stability, but “a deliberate political ploy, trampling the will of Rivers people to serve the interests of a select few.”
The NDC national spokesperson who confirmed the arrest of the national president told FIJ that the police called him from Rivers State Police on Tuesday, asking him to report to the division in Port Harcourt after he had received the invitation letter to appear at the State Intelligence Department in Lagos.
“I told them that I was not in Rivers State but in Lagos. I also told them that the president was in Rivers,” Ogboru stated.
According to him, the reason for the police invitation was the statement released on Sunday, 23 March, and a radio interview aired on Monday, 24 March, calling for a protest against the state of emergency declared in the state last week.
The NDC national spokesperson further stated that the president is still in police custody and is unreachable.
He condemned police action, saying they were very clear in their communication that the protest would be a peaceful one.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
