The crisis rocking the River state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) took a new turn on Friday as lawyers and judges were chased out of a high court in Port Harcourt, with at least two persons killed and properties destroyed.
The attackers breached the court security around 11 a.m. in violent bid to stop a judge from sitting on an interlocutory motion brought by a faction of the party in the state.
The injunction was sought by the faction said to be loyal to Magnus Abe, a serving APC senator from the state. Mr Abe’s faction has been sparring with the faction believed loyal to Rotimi Amaechi, the minister of transport and immediate-past governor of the state.
Mr Amaechi’s faction is said to be in favour of allowing the party congresses proceed as scheduled for Saturday. But Mr Abe’s group was against this arrangement and sought a court order to overturn it.
Preliminary hearing on the injunction was slated for Friday morning, and Mr Amaechi’s loyalists reportedly got wind of the proceeding and decided to take a protest to the court.
Properties worth millions were believed to have been destroyed in a fracas that ensued after hoodlums from both sides clashed at the court’s premises.
Pictures circulated in the aftermath of the attack showed damaged vehicles and buildings.
The violence, however, failed to stop Chiwendu Nworgu, the presiding judge, from granting the injunction forbidding the congress from holding tomorrow.
Hours after the disorderliness, Nyesom Wike, governor of the state, stormed the court with some of his supporters.
The supporters of the governor broke the locked doors as they went round inspecting the havoc wreaked by the suspects.
 took a new turn on Friday as lawyers and judges were chased out of a high court in Port Harcourt, with at least two persons killed and properties destroyed.){kind=link}