Ex-Rivers SSG Summoned by Police Over Alleged Plot to Assassinate Wike

The Nigeria Police Force has summoned former Rivers State Secretary to the Government (SSG) Tammy Wenike Danagogo over a leaked phone conversation allegedly linked to a plot to assassinate Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike.

An invitation letter published by Sahara Reporters, issued by the Office of the Commissioner of Police, Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Force Intelligence Department, Abuja, directed Danagogo to appear in person on Thursday, January 15, at 10 a.m. at the IRT facility in the Old Abattoir area, Guzape Junction, Abuja. He is to report to CSP Hillary Ugwuanyi and his team upon arrival.

The police described the summons as part of an ongoing investigation and a “fact-finding exercise in the interest of justice and fairness,” citing Section 53(2)(c) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

Danagogo, a close ally of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, has been linked in online reports to a leaked audio recording allegedly discussing plans to target Wike, his long-time political rival. While the invitation letter did not explicitly mention Wike, sources familiar with the investigation confirmed the summons relates to the viral recording.

Earlier, a Port Harcourt–based medical doctor and pastor, Dr. Tombari Joseph Gbeneol, was arrested by the IRT over an alleged plan to assassinate Wike. Security sources said the arrest followed the interception of a phone conversation between Gbeneol and Danagogo, in which they allegedly discussed involving Israeli nationals to carry out the attack and seeking funding from Governor Fubara.

A senior security source described the call as a “grave national security threat,” prompting immediate police action. Dr. Gbeneol has been in custody for about two weeks.

Efforts to arrest Danagogo, who reportedly went underground after the matter became public, are ongoing. The Nigeria Police confirmed a suspect is in custody and that investigations continue, without providing further details.