Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate for central senatorial district of kogi state in the forthcoming general election, Natasha Akpoti has accused the state commissioner for water resources, Salami Ozigi Deedat and the Administrator of Okehi local government area Abdulkarim Ohiare for allegedly hiring political thugs that killed one of her supporters, Ojo Enesi at the weekend.
Akpoti disclosed this at the weekend in Obeiba in Ihima community where the youth leader of her campaign organisation, late Ojo Enesi was killed.
She noted that the duo of Deedat and Ohiare has been terrorising her supporters, and preventing them from spreading her manifestos to the people of the local government area.
“At about 11:00 pm on Friday a white bus was parked at the Commissioner for water resources house at Obeiba in Ihima where guns, ammunitions and police uniforms were offloaded into the resident of the commissioner.
“As soon as I got the information, I drew the attention of the area commander of police in the district, Mr Adegoke Rufus , but to my surprise he told me that the party, APC members were arming themselves against possible attack from SDP supporters.
“The inability of the area commander to take a proactive measure led to the killing of Ojo Enesi while several others were seriously wounded as the thugs are given new guns to launch house to house raid on my supporters, she expressed.
She added that, “at 1:00am I started receiving distress calls, that APC thugs have invaded the houses of my supporters, those I could reach, I told them to run away, but unfortunately Ojo Enesi could not escape as he was killed near his house”
While at the Police Headquarters in Lokoja at the weekend to present the corpse of late Enesi to the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Hakim Busari , Akpoti noted that the intimidation and continuous harrassement of her supporters will not dissuade her from achieving her quest to liberate the people from poverty to development.
“Without mincing words, late Enesi was simply killed because he was supporting Natasha Akpoti of SDP. We brought the corpse to Police headquarters in Lokoja and the Commissioner of Police has assured us that the case will be transferred to Lokoja to ensure that justice is brought to the family of the deceased”, she said.
Akpoti who noted that the death of Enesi will never go in vain, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to call the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello to order, saying that as Chief Security office of the state he should be able to control his aides against causing harm on the opposition parties, adding that opposition parties are key in any democratic setting.
She urged her supporters in Okehi local government not to retaliate any attack, but vowed that the perpetrators of the henious act will be brought to book.
“I am using this medium to appeal to my supporters to remain firm and resolute as the struggle to emancipate the people, remain no retreat, no surrender. We will not be intimidated and we can not be cowed to backout from the race.
“In any democratic setting around the world there is opposition so we can not be hindered from exercising our right of campaigning before the election as stipulated by the constitution ” she noted.
The younger brother of the deceased, Kashim Abdulrashid who witnessed the killing of his elder brother while expressing his ordeal stated that the political thugs numbering about 20 were members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Ihima led by one of their leaders Inna Sekenchi who invaded their resident at Obeiba around 1:30 am on Saturday and killed Ojo Enesi
The eye witness disclosed that it took the intervention of God before he could ascaped being killed, stating that his elder brother died leaving behind a mother, father and seven months pregnant wife.
Suleiman Ahmed the coordinator of Natasha Akpoti campaign organisation Obeiba ward 3 who was also received injuries from the midnight attacked disclosed that eight other members and supporters of SDP suffered various degree of injuries inflicted on them by the thugs at the weekend.
