Alltimepost.com Sincerity of Purpose
By Idahosa Musa
Edo North Unity Worldwide coordinator, Comrade Okhai Okhani, who was brutalized and dehumanized last Saturday by suspected armed vigilante members in Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area of the State has cried out for justice.
The fifty-three (53) seconds video containing the inhuman behavior which surfaced on the social media on Monday, has continued to attract condemnation from the public.
Okhani, an activist, currently in critical condition at an undisclosed hospital, is calling on the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Army, Directorate of State Services, and the State government to bring the culprits to justice.
Narrating his ordeal to newsmen via telephone Okhani recounted how over 50 uniformed armed vigilantes and thugs stormed the venue of a stakeholders’ summit he organized for political office holders in Edo North to present their scorecards.
The event, according to him is an annual forum to assess and honor public office holders who had positively impacted their constituencies in delivering dividends of democracy.
He stated that he had sent out official invitations to notable political figures including Senator Adams Oshiomhole, Hon. Peter Akpatason, Hon. Anamero Sunday, and Hon. Hussein Mustapher, and several others.
The venue for the event, he added, was approved by the Acting Chairman of Etsako West Local Government Council, Hon. Valentine Okuilagwe.
Okhani said all was set for takeoff when the venue was suddenly attacked, vandalized by the suspects, adding that the guests were also brutalized and their valuables destroyed.
He claimed that the attack was allegedly orchestrated by political actors in Edo North, who according to him felt the assessment and honor was not in their favor, hence the deployment of the suspected vigilante group to disrupt the gathering.
“Shortly before the event commenced, a group of vigilantes and thugs arrived on motorcycles and without any provocation assaulted participants, damaging equipment, and beating me to pulp.
“I recognized some of the vigilante members. They descended on me and my colleagues, beat us up with matchets and clubs and even captured the violence on video.
“Then threw me into their waiting Hilux vehicle where they continued to brutalize me with the butts of their rifles,” Okhani said.
“They took me to the Auchi Area Command of the Nigeria Police where I was detained for over four hours without formal charges.
” They falsely claimed that my venue was not approved for the event. Yet the venue, a public event centre was officially approved.
“At the Command worried by the critical condition that I was in, the Police released me to my wife to seek medical treatment,” he added.
Okhani described the incident as a politically motivated assault and expressed concern that local vigilante groups are now being used as tools of intimidation by powerful individuals in the locality.
“I am in pain—my ribs, my head. These men dragged me to an unknown location before deciding to hand me over to the Area Commander, ACP Lawrence Adjihu, and his deputy, CSP Albert Udeme”, he added
Confirming the report, the Police Command Police Public Relations officer (PPRO) in Edo State, SP Moses Yamu, said the Command has commenced preliminary investigation into the matter.
