Joy Nunieh: ‘How Wike chased police officers from my house’

Former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Joy Nunieh, has appreciated Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike for saving her life.

Pulse had reported that on Thursday, July 16, 2020, more than a dozen police officers engulfed Nunieh’s residence in Port Harcourt as she prepared to catch a flight to Abuja to testify before lawmakers.

Nunieh has repeatedly accused Niger Delta Minister Godwill Akpabio of sexual harassment and corruption.

“Senator Magnus Abe called me after a while that the CP (Commissioner of Police) in Rivers did not really know about it (the police officers on her property) and that the CP was going to reach me.

"The CP did reach me and said he was not aware of what was going on,” Nunieh said, while narrating her ordeal to government house correspondents in Port Harcourt, according to TheCable.

Senator Magnus Abe. [puoreports] Pulse Nigeria

“The CP asked that I send him my address and which I did and then I saw the cars come in. So, I asked if that was the CP, and they said no.

"Fortunately, I was just wise enough. I stayed by the door, and they wanted to drag me, so I just banged the door, so they can’t come in.

“So, I now left the front door to call my governor to tell my governor that this is what has happened, and he said no, I should not go anywhere that he was on his way.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State (Govt House PH) Pulse Nigeria

"They kept trying to pull down the door and then I asked them for a warrant of arrest and I said I can’t go anywhere without a warrant of arrest.

“I needed to see the warrant. We are not in a Banana Republic. So, as they were still trying, my governor came and sent them out asking why they would come to arrest a woman like an armed robber and that they should leave the compound.

“The governor then said I should enter the car with him. So, I am now with my governor in Government House, Port Harcourt.

“I really want to thank the governor. I really don’t know what to say but my governor is a man. He is a man. He didn’t just say that nothing should happen to me, he came to my rescue. I want to say thank you to my governor.”

The NDDC has been mired in corruption since it was established in 2000 to bridge the development gap in an oil rich but impoverished Niger Delta region.

Acting MD of the NDDC, Kemebradikumo Pondei and his team walked out on legislators investigating the alleged N40 billion irregular expenditure in the commission, Thursday, citing conflict of interest with committee Chairman, Rep Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo of Ondo State.

The House has issued a warrant for Pondei's arrest.