The Labour Party candidate in the 2024 Edo governorship election, Olumide Akpata, has described how armed men disrupted a meeting of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Benin City, alleging that his cousin sustained a head injury during the incident.
Earlier, Yunusa Tanko, national coordinator of the Obidient Movement, said Peter Obi and other ADC chieftains were attacked at the residence of John Odigie-Oyegun, a senior party figure.
Speaking on The Morning Show on Arise Television on Friday, Akpata, who attended the meeting, said the group had received intelligence from a “reliable source” that the ADC secretariat was about to be attacked. This, he said, prompted them to hasten proceedings and relocate to Odigie-Oyegun’s residence.
“We tried to move things quickly as soon as we could. We left the premises and proceeded to Chief Oyegun’s house, there is a particular cousin who had a bottle smashed on her head. I had first-hand information regarding what happened,” he said.
“We were right at Oyegun’s front door taking pictures when we saw people shooting. The shooting was so intense that the DSS men who were there had to push us back into the sitting room and we were there for 20 minutes until this assailants fled the scene.”
Rejecting claims by the Edo State Government that the violence stemmed from internal party disputes, Akpata described the incident as a deliberate act of intimidation.
“With the points regarding the Edo State government stating that this was an internal party thing, I don’t buy it,” he said.
“The issues in the party prior to the meeting involved persons I know personally; it would not have resulted in getting armed men to come to the heart of GRA in the afternoon to start firing guns.
“What I think is that it’s just a message being sent to the electorate that you will participate in this process at the risk of life and death, so you are better staying at home. That’s an attack on democracy.”
Meanwhile, the Edo State Police Command confirmed it has launched a “full-scale investigation” into the incident.