A live television interview being aired on ARISE News was violently disrupted on Friday night when political thugs invaded Londa Hotel in the Orazi axis of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. The ARISE News TV crew was conducting the interview with Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, a former Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, who was at the time discussing the political situation in Rivers State during the program News Night.

Eyewitnesses reported that the armed attackers, allegedly from Obio/Akpor Local Government Area and openly claiming loyalty to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barr. Nyesom Wike, stormed the hotel around 9:15 p.m. They chanted in their local language, specifically Ikwerre, declaring they would not permit such an interview on their land. The assailants forcibly broke into hotel rooms, seizing mobile phones and causing widespread panic among hotel staff and guests who fled in fear. They were heard shouting that the interview was “anti Wike” and should not have been conducted in the area.

The thugs eventually reached the location of the live interview, where they threatened Dr. Nwibubasa and the ARISE News crew, forcing the broadcast to be discontinued abruptly. The attackers did not stop there; they went on to vandalize hotel property, steal personal belongings, and cart away broadcast equipment. Items reportedly seized included a Sony Canada Zed 280 camera, an industrial tripod, wireless microphones, and other broadcast accessories belonging to ARISE TV.

In response to the escalating situation, the ARISE News team, including reporter Andy Omano, raised a distress alert to colleagues and contacted the police control room. Multiple police response teams were promptly dispatched to the scene. Dr. Nwibubasa and the ARISE cameraman, Promise, along with the journalist, narrowly escaped the assailants. The Divisional Police Officer arrived with officers and, together with the hotel manager, ensured that those involved were safely escorted out of the hotel to Kala Police Station, where official statements were taken.

Confirming the incident and the police involvement, Dr. Nwibubasa released a statement on Saturday titled “A Violent Assault on Free Speech: My Ordeal During a Live Arise TV Interview in Port Harcourt.” He stated, “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.” He further added that the attackers made explicit threats, chanting that he “would not leave the hotel alive for daring to speak against Barr. Nyesom Wike.”

Dr. Nwibubasa expressed profound gratitude to the Rivers State Police Command and the management of Arise TV, noting that their coordinated intervention “undoubtedly saved our lives.” He vehemently condemned the attack, describing it as not just an assault on him personally, but “a direct assault on the constitutional right to free speech as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” and dangerous for democracy. He called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the attackers and 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.