The nation was stunned with the shocking news early Thursday morning that a Nigerian man had stabbed a Presidential Guard as he infiltrated the compound of State House in the process of endangering the lives of President Dr Irfaan Ali and his wife and child.
This horrific act has left a security personnel nursing five stab wounds, but we must commend security officer Telon Perriera for his brave act of fighting off the intruder. The security ranks stationed at State House must also be commended for their rapid response, which resulted in the situation being de-escalated quickly, resulting in no further injuries.
Nonetheless, there needs to be an investigation to determine how it is that this intruder, who was eventually shot three times by security personnel, had managed to breach the compound and, more importantly, to get the gun of another security personnel. This is a serious breach, and requires a full probe, as, from all reports, this was evidently an assassination attempt on the Head of State.
The fact that 25-year-old Bethel Ikena Chinezie, who entered Guyana on March 13, 2020, can singlehandedly carry out such an act is cause for concern about the level of security at State House. He obviously had security training, as has already been confirmed, given the fact that he was working with a local security firm. At this point in the investigation, the Guyana Police Force has already engaged Interpol to ascertain if Chinezie has a criminal record. This shows that the investigation is moving at a fast pace.
In June 2021, when Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, President Ali had said that political assassination has no place in the contemporary Caribbean, as it solves nothing. To quote the President, “…political assassination has no place in the contemporary Caribbean. It solves nothing, nor resolves anything. Such murderous actions are repugnant to the values of the regional integration movement and incompatible with democratic values and constitutional rule.”
Likewise, we repeat the same with the hope that the Guyana Police Force can swiftly bring not only Chinezie to justice, but anyone else who may be behind this heinous act which threatened the life of Guyana’s Head of State and his family. There is no doubt this act has caused trauma to the President and his family, and all Guyanese should be united at this time, and not allow those with ill intent to cause the nation to be divided.
Already, these is widespread condemnation of the act, with the CIOG saying, “Violent discourse can lead to extreme polarization, we call on all Guyanese to remain united, be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, reject the sowing of division and all forms of hate speech.”
In 2017, former President David Granger had launched a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into an alleged assassination plot against him. It was alleged that on March 29, 2017 someone by the name of Andriff Gillard reported to the Police that his friend and neighbour had offered him $7 million to assassinate the then President. He claimed the offer was made during a conversation between him and his neighbour, after he had approached him to borrow $6 million to purchase a property. The controversial end to that CoI need not be repeated, but, needless to say, a proper and thorough probe is expected into the events of December 15, 2022.
This publication astutely supports the viewpoint that any act that destabilises the peace and democracy of Guyana must be condemned.
