Suspected political thugs have shot one person during an attack on the supporters of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar in Eberi, Omuma Local Government Area of Rivers State.
According to PUNCH, the PDP Presidential Campaign Council in Omuma LGA, Hon. Nnamdi Nwogu, who confirmed the attack on the telephone on Monday morning said over 30 youths brandishing machetes and guns swooped on him, his aide and three others, while they were pasting Atiku’s posters at the popular Eberi-Omuma junction in Omuma on Sunday.
Hon. Nwogu alleged that the attack was ordered by political leaders in the area, saying one of Atiku’s supporters who happened to be his aide, Udochukwu Nwakpala, was ratchetted and shot at.
He further said Udochukwu was in a critical condition in an undisclosed hospital in Port Harcourt.
“Three days ago, I gave my boys posters of Atiku to paste in my local government, and yesterday (Sunday), I now called one of my boys, Udochukwu and a friend of mine to join me to see if the posters were pasted the way I had directed.
“When we got to the place, I saw the posters in some areas. But I noticed that the posters were not at the strategic place called Eberi-Omuma. I said okay, since I am around let me ensure it was done. I said come and paste these posters here.
“While I was there inspecting them, I noticed one of the councilors in Ward 1, popularly called mayor councillor; he saw what they were doing.
“He (councillor) went back and made a telephone call. The next thing, we saw over 30 boys armed with machetes and guns. These boys looked at me, they started attacking us. They used machetes on my boy, Udochukwu, and harassed me and my friend with machetes.
“I tried to rescue my boy who was bleeding because they ratcheted this boy all round and shot him.
“We managed to move him with the bleeding and rushed him to the hospital. While we were there, the boy was on a drip, we got a call that they (assailants) were trailing us.
“We asked that the drip should be removed and that was how we relocated the boy to another hospital,” he explained.
Nwogu further said the hoodlums had told him that they were sent to stop him and his team from campaigning for Atiku in the area.
He added, “It is only God that knows how he rescued me and this boy from them. Maybe we would have been killed just to go and paste posters. We have not even started campaigns yet.
“They said they were asked to attack me and all the supporters of Atiku. That we must not campaign for Atiku in this local government. What is our crime? Allow me to campaign for my candidate, and if you have your candidate why not go and campaign for your own candidate? Does it call for war?
He said the matter was reported to the Eberi-Omuma and Okehi police stations, even as he called on the police and the Federal Government to intervene, saying his life and those of his supporters were in danger.
“As I speak to you now, I am not in my house. The boy is in an undisclosed hospital. First of all, I want to call for police protection. I want to also say the FG should come to my aid because my life, my family and the life of my boy are at stake,” he said.
Speaking on the incident, the spokesman for the PDP Presidential campaign council in Rivers State, Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, condemned the attack and called on the police to immediately commence investigation with a view to arrest those behind the attack.
Dr. Nwibubasa said, “This reign of terror on members of our great party in Omumu LGA who were elected freely to support Atiku Abubakar yesterday (Sunday) is highly condemnable.
“The life of Udochukwu Nwakwala is presently at stake and we are worried if he will survive the gunshots and machete cuts that were rained on him for simply pasting Atiku’s posters in Omuma.
“I want to call on the Governor of Rivers State (Nyesom Wike) to call his members of the party that are loyal to him and carrying out orders inimical to humanity to order. This is a test case for the new commissioner of police in the state. He must investigate, arrest and prosecute whoever is responsible for this dastardly act.”
The state police spokesperson, Grace Iringe-koko, when contacted said she was in a meeting and she’s yet to comment on the incident as of the time of filing this report.
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