Political thugs believed to be loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, disrupted a live interview session by Arise TV News with Dr Leloonu Nwibubasa, a former Rivers State Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, at a hotel in Port Harcourt on the night of Friday, January 2, 2026.
The thugs invaded Londa Hotel in the Orazi axis of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State during the live interview.
Chanting in their local language, the armed thugs broke into rooms around 9:15 pm, searching for both the former commissioner and the Arise News cameraman. They forced doors open, and seized people’s phones, and caused hotel workers to flee in panic.
The assailants eventually reached the location of the live interview, threatening the former commissioner and the Arise crew to stop the broadcast. According to the broadcaster, the cameraman made a distress call to a colleague, who immediately alerted the police and rushed to the hotel. The police have since taken statements from all those involved.
Arise TV News reported that the political thugs seized a Sonny Canada Zed 280 camera, an industrial tripod, a wireless microphone, and other equipment.
