Rivers lifts curfew, calls for peaceful coexistence

The Rivers State Government on Thursday lifted the curfew it had imposed on the state after last Saturday’s Presidential election.

The announcement which was made in a statement signed by the secretary to the administration, George Feyii, said the directive was with immediate effect.

“The general public is hereby informed that the dusk-to-dawn curfew declared by the state government earlier in the week has been lifted with immediate effect. “Consequently, residents in the state are free to go about their lawful duties and continue to keep peace at all times,” Feyii said in the statement.

Panic and anxiety greeted most parts of Port Harcourt, the capital, earlier on Monday, March 30, 2015, when the curfew was first imposed by the government. Motorists and many of the state’s residents who got the announcement late, hurried to their destinations for fear of being punished by law enforcement agents.

The curfew, while still effective, lasted between 7:00pm and 6:00am. Rivers was among states across the country which witnessed violence and destruction of lives and properties during last weekend’s crucial polls and the immediate imposition of the curfew by the government is believed to have curbed the further spread of disorderliness.