Peterside denies invading Rivers judiciary

Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dakuku Peterside has denied allegations that he led thugs to disrupt sitting at the Rivers State Judiciary complex last year.

Reacting to statements credited to Samuel Nwanosike at the sitting of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the invasion of the Rivers State judiciary, Peterside said no truth could come out of such person given his background, record and antecedent.

A statement by his media team reads: “I was not around the court premises, I did not come near the court premises and I was not even in Port Harcourt when the incident happened. I was in my office in Lagos and this can be verified by those who care to know.

“I would have ignored the charade, but to set the record straight, I was not in Rivers State when the protest happened, he could only have seen me in his dream or just saying what his paymaster told him to say at the panel.

“There is no truth that can come out of his mouth and that of his paymaster. They don’t deserve any response, but for discerning members of the public who deserve to know the truth, I did not participate in any protest.

“Responding to Nwanosike is akin to a decent man running after a mad man who came to take his clothes while taking his bath. If I want to protest, I know how and where to protest. A protest is part of democratic culture, just like the judicial intervention in politics.

“If I granted an interview, it was after the said protest had taken place and could not have influenced what had already happened.”

The NIMASA boss said they were only displaying their ignorance and desperation to divert attention from what is obviously a “failed administration that has brought insecurity, unemployment and misery to Rivers people.”

“I have had a solid reputation and record of decent public conduct and the likes of Nwanosike and his pay master cannot dent my records,” he added.