SDP Senatorial candidate delivers body of supporter killed to police headquarters in Kogi

The Kogi Central Senatorial candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Natasha Akpoti, on Saturday evening delivered to the Kogi State police command in Lokoja, the body of one of her supporters that was killed in the early hours of Saturday.

Akpoti is among other candidates seeking to unseat the embattled candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dino Melaye, in next month presidential/national assembly elections.

It was gathered that the victim, Ojo Enesi, was attacked at Obeiba, Ihima in Okehi Local Government Area by some suspected thugs who equally razed down some houses in the area.

Akpoti, who led other supporters of her party to the police command headquarters at about 6:00p.m. on Saturday with the body of the deceased lamented that Enesi was killed because he was supporting her.

She told the Commissioner of Police, CP Hakim Busari, that the intimidation and continuous harassment of her supporters will not dissuade her from achieving her quest to liberate the people from poverty to development.

Akpoti accused a commissioner in the state and administrator of a local council for hiring political thugs that killed one of her supporters.
According to her, “at about 11:00p.m. on Friday, a vehicle was parked at the house of the said commissioner in Ihima where guns, ammunition and police uniforms were offloaded into his residence.

“As soon as I got the information, I drew the attention of the area commander of police in the district, Mr. Adegoke Rufus, to it but to my surprise he told me that the All Progressives Congress (APC) 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 severely wounded as the thugs were given guns to launch a house to house raid on my supporters.

“At 1:00a.m. I started receiving distress calls that APC thugs have invaded the houses of my supporters, those I could I told them to run for their lives, but unfortunately Ojo Enesi could not escape as he was killed near his house.

“Without missing words, the late Enesi was killed because he was supporting Natasha Akpoti of SDP. We brought the body to the police headquarters to ensure that justice is brought to the family of the deceased.”

Akpoti noted that the death of Enesi will never go in vain, even as she appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to call the governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello to order, saying as the chief security officer of the state, he should be able to control his aides against causing harm to the opposition parties, stressing that opposition parties are key in any democratic setting.

She appealed to all her supporters in Okehi local government area not to retaliate any attack, but vowed that the perpetrators of the heinous act will be brought to book.

The younger brother of the deceased, Kashim Abdulrashid, who witnessed the killing of his brother, noted that the political thugs numbering about 20 were members of the APC in Ihima and they were led by one of their leaders, simply named Sekenchi, who invaded their residence at Obeiba at about 1:30a.m. on Saturday.

He disclosed that it took the intervention of God before he could escape, stating that his elder brother died leaving behind a mother, father and seven months old pregnant wife.