‘I Didn’t Lead Attack on Rivers Council Boss’ — CSO Ekakita Denies Reports

Hector Ekakita, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the Sole Administrator of Ahoada-East Local Government Area in Rivers State, Mr. Goodluck Iheanachor, has denied any involvement in the violent attack on the council boss, despite being named in a police report.

Speaking during a Monday interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Ekakita dismissed the allegations, insisting he was not part of the group that assaulted his principal.

“I, as the chief security officer, how would I do that? How would I venture into carrying hoodlums to go and attack the man I’m working with? I was never found in the video,” Ekakita stated.

He said he was in his office at the time of the incident and was advised not to intervene when tensions escalated over unpaid allowances.

“When I heard the noise of the political appointees that the sole administrator did not pay for the month of May, when I barged in, I was asked to shut the door — that it was between him and those political appointees,” he added.
“I never made any video or carried any hoodlums to go and attack him. So, where did I and the chief of staff come into the picture?”

The controversy follows the emergence of a disturbing video showing Mr. Iheanachor being assaulted by several individuals. In the footage, he is seen sitting on the floor, visibly distressed, while being beaten with canes and coerced into signing documents.

Two documents appeared on a chair in front of him, and he was holding a pen. Another victim, identified as the council secretary, Mr. Alabi Umegbewe, was also seen being dragged into the room and assaulted.

In response, the Rivers State Police Command described the attack as both “heinous” and “reprehensible.”

“On June 20, 2025, at about 1340hrs, a group of hoodlums numbering about 30, led by Mr. Hector Ekakita, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) and the Chief of Staff (COS) to the sole administrator, respectively, stormed the council secretariat and attacked him,” the command said in a statement released Sunday.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga A. Adepoju, visited the scene with other senior security officials and has since summoned Ekakita, the Chief of Staff, and others linked to the incident to report to the State Headquarters at Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, for questioning.