The Imo State Police Command says 15 men are in its custody for attacking the convoy of Governor Hope Uzodinma with weapons.
Commissioner of Police, Isaac Akinmoyede said that the hoodlums were arrested while wielding one locally-made pistol and two machetes.
Other items recovered from the suspect, the commissioner said, were a mask, a chain and a padlock.
The suspects claimed to be staff members of the Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ISOPADEC) protesting non-payment of three-month salaries.
They reportedly attacked Uzodinma’s convoy on Monday as the governor was on his way to the Nigerian Army’s 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, to inaugurate an officers mess built by the state government.
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Akinmoyede said that the incident occurred around Concord area of New Owerri.
The commissioner said that while no life was lost, windscreens of some of the vehicles in the convoy were smashed and the vehicles damaged.
Akinmoyede noted that the suspects have been handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.
Meanwhile, the state government said that the arrest of the suspects has vindicated it in its position that the opposition were sponsoring protests in the state.
The state government said it was impossible for ISOPADEC staff members to be armed with guns and machetes during a protest.
“The opposition is smarting from the irredeemable shame the government’s successes is rubbing on their face.
“They quickly thought of another protest to take the shine out off the increasingly unbeatable trajectory of Governor Uzodimma’s success stories. But, luck ran out of luck this time,” the Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, said.
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