Political thugs on Friday night invaded Londa Hotel in the Orazi axis of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, disrupting a live interview being aired on ARISE News.
The ARISE News TV crew was conducting the interview with a former Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, when the thugs stormed the hotel. Dr. Nwibubasa was at the time discussing the political situation in Rivers State.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers, who were armed, broke into hotel rooms at about 9:15 p.m., chanting in their local language while searching for the former commissioner and the ARISE cameraman. They reportedly forced doors open, seized mobile phones, and caused panic among hotel staff, who fled in fear of being attacked.
The thugs later reached the location of the live interview and threatened Dr. Nwibubasa and the ARISE News crew, forcing the broadcast to be discontinued.
The ARISE News team raised a distress alert to colleagues, prompting the police to be notified. Security operatives later arrived at the scene and have since taken statements from those involved.
Items reportedly seized by the attackers include a Sony camera, an industrial tripod, wireless microphones, and other broadcast accessories.
Earlier on Friday, the ARISE News crew had covered an event involving the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in Omoku, Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area.
Meanwhile, in a statement released on Saturday and titled “A Violent Assault on Free Speech: My Ordeal During a Live Arise TV Interview in Port Harcourt,” Nwibubasa confirmed the incident saying, “At approximately 9:15 p.m. last night, while participating in a live television interview with Arise TV at a hotel premises in Port Harcourt, I was violently attacked by a group of men who identified themselves as being from Obio/Akpor Local Government Area and who openly claimed loyalty to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barr. Nyesom Wike.”
According to Nwibubasa, “The assailants disrupted the live broadcast, forcefully seized and carted away the Arise TV camera and other broadcast equipment, and threatened my life as well as that of the Arise TV correspondent.”
He added that the attackers went further to vandalize hotel property and steal personal belongings while searching for him and the Arise News crew.
Nwibubasa said the attackers made explicit threats during the incident, stating:
“Throughout this ordeal, the attackers loudly chanted that I would not leave the hotel alive for daring to speak against Barr. Nyesom Wike.”
The broadcast was eventually forced to stop, while the ARISE News team sent out distress calls that prompted police intervention. Multiple police response teams later arrived at the hotel and escorted those involved to safety.
Confirming police involvement, Dr. Nwibubasa said: “It took the coordinated intervention of multiple police response teams to extract us safely from the area.”
He expressed gratitude to the Rivers State Police Command and the management of Arise TV, noting that their actions “undoubtedly saved our lives.”
DL Nwibubasa called for the arrest and prosecution of the attackers and described the incident as a broader attack on democracy, saying: “What occurred last night was not just an attack on me—it was a direct assault on the constitutional right to free speech as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
He also urged the Rivers State Government, civil society groups, and the media to condemn the incident and address what he described as a growing trend of political violence in the state.
Faridah Abdulkadiri.
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