Five Injured In Delta PDP LG Primaries Clashes
SAN FRANCISCO, August 28, (THEWILL) - No fewer than five persons were reportedly injured in clashes resulting from the recently held Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Local Government primaries in Otu-Jeremi community, Ughelli South Council Area of Delta State.
This came even as several aspirants who had bought nomination forms to contest various position had cried foul over the exercise, alleging that no election was held across, saying the aspirants were purportedly “hand-picked” and “selected” by the “power-that-be” in the state.
Otu-Jeremi, the country home of the state's Deputy Governor, Prof Amos Utuama, has been “boiling” over the outcome of the exercise which has been shrouded in controversies and protest, THEWILL has learnt.
Supporters of two groups of aspirants who were supposed to participate in the councilorship primaries in the area had disagreed over the outcome of the exercise, claiming to be victims of attack from rival groups in what looked like a “propaganda” to curry sympathy and favour from a party chieftain “hand-picking” persons to the position.
Sources said there has been a crisis between the party's Youth Leader in the council area, Hitler Sadiq, and the caretaker committee councilor representing Ward 2, Eferere Umudi, both of whom have been hostile to each other over the outcome of the controversial primaries.
Giving his own account of the crisis, Sadiq claimed he and one of his supporters, Paradise Akpodowho, had been attacked by thugs allegedly sent by Umudi.
On his part, Umudi, who also claimed to have been hospitalised, said he and his cousin, Thomas Ejele, who had visited from Holland, as well as one person identified as Endurance, were attacked with machetes by a mob allegedly led by Sadiq.
Giving a graphic details of the incident, Umudi, who claimed to have been rescued by the police, said he received a machete cut on the neck, saying: “On my way back into the house, one boy called Endurance rushed over to me with an injury on his neck and blood all over his body.
“Those who brought him said there was no money to take him to the hospital. I asked him who did it to him and he said it was Daniel. I was surprised because Daniel is my brother.
“Before I could turn into the house to go bring a vehicle, a crowed had, from nowhere, pounced on me and one of my brothers who came in from Europe. They started attacking us asking if I was the boy's boss, threatening me, saying “ask him well and see if he can tell you who did it to him”.
“Before I knew it, they had cut me at the back of my neck with cutlass. I tried to run to my house, but they pursued me still so I ran down to the police station. It was at the station that I was taken to the hospital after they had taken my statement.
“I later heard that they fought among themselves and still came back to my house to destroy it and destroyed my car. If you go there, now you will see everything. I didn't know why they came after me, but what I saw there is that they attacked me because I wanted to treat the boy they injured, beat my brother, took his phones before we could escape from them.
'I didn't know what happened to Sadiq or how he got injured because I cannot hurt anybody, rather they were the ones who attacked me.”
But giving his own side of the story, Sadiq said: “It all started on the 22nd of August when Hon. Eferere Umudi came to my house to warn me, threatening to kill me and my boys. I underrated the threats, believing that as a fellow party member, both of us can always resolve any issue bothering him.
“To my surprise, that fateful day of 23rd August, at about 11pm, Hon. Eferere Umudi mobilised boys from Ugborikoko in Uvwie LGA to attack me and other youth members of the party. They inflicted several machete cuts on me and Mr. Paradise Akpodowho, leaving us in the pool of our blood, before we were rushed to Lily Clinic, Warri,” Sadiq said.
When contacted however , the spokesperson of the Delta State Police Command, Celestina Kalu (DSP), said she had no record of the incident with her.