Hon. Inye Marshall Harry, one of the sons of the late political icon and first Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Dr. Marshall Sokari Harry, has raised alarm over imminent threat to his life and that of members of his family.
Inye Harry told journalists in Port Harcourt that he was scared into abandoning his plan to go to Abonnema for the burial of retired Chief Hon. Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte (JSC) on Saturday, September 26, 2020 after arriving for the very purpose two days earlier in the State capital. He recounted how he is also living in fear in Abuja, where his father was assassinated, saying it seemed the killers of his father were still hovering over him (Inye).
According to him, “I came in from Abuja by air and had cause to reach Benin, Edo State, before the burial of Hon. Karibi-Whyte. I, therefore, made a road trip to Benin, through Warri in Delta State. However, on my way out of Port Harcourt, I observed that a particular vehicle appeared to be keeping step with me and so I had to instruct my security attaché to be on the alert, thinking there could be a kidnap attempt on my life and, at that point, I could not help but remember how assassins brutally murdered my father in March 2003.”
He informed that the trip to Benin was successful, but noted that, on the way back to Port Harcourt, he still noticed that he was being trailed and might have been hurt if not for the presence of the security detail he had as escort with him on the journey.
In view of the security threat to his life, Inye Harry said he became afraid of what the situation could be if he proceeded to Abonnema for the burial of the late jurist. He, therefore, cut short his journey and hurriedly returned to Abuja.
He said he became worried and wondered what anybody could want to eliminate him for, adding that “even though I aspired to contest for the Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives in 2019, since I did not get the ticket, I went back quietly to my life and business, so why me?”, he asked.
Inye Marshall Harry is embittered that each time he complained, the authorities never seemed to take notice, pointing out that “This is the same way they ignored the security concerns that my father raised until he was brutally murdered in his own house, right there in Abuja in March 5, 2003.
While calling on the country’s security agencies to protect him, like other law-abiding citizens and not allow criminals or agents of vicious politicians to operate unhindered, Inye Harry also appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to order investigation into various attempts on his life.
He recalled that, “President Buhari was a very close political friend to my late father,” disclosing that, “in 2008, an assassination attempt was made on my life after I testified before The Truth and Reconciliation Commission about the possible killers of my father. There was another attempt on my life in 2018, while we were all consulting to run for the primaries to obtain a ticket to contest for the Degema/Bonny seat in the House of Representatives. This is the third time that dire attempts would be made on my life and so I call on the security operatives to give all of us better protection from evil people in the society.”
