UPU condemns ‘political killings’ in Urhobo nation

The Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) has charged politicians and other stakeholders in Urhobo land, Delta State, to eschew violence and killings as the 2023 election draws nearer.

In a statement issued yesterday by its President-General, Olorogun Moses Taiga, the group said the rate at which alleged politically motivated killings were taking place in Urhobo land had become worrisome.

He cited three killings, including two last year and one this year of a young politician, who was killed on his way to Asaba for council elections.

He also cited the case of another politician that was killed in Ughelli South last year, while lamenting that in the last few days, another young politician was murdered in Sapele, saying the people confirmed that the assassinations have political undertones.

Taiga said although investigations were beginning to show that the killings were politically motivated, he said UPU did not presume so, adding: “But local government politicking and scheming for the 2023 elections are already ongoing, though the elections were still two years away.

“Are these killings mere coincidences? The UPU does not know, but they are worrisome and ominous. Urhobo politics and elections have always been intense, but the killing of opponents has not parted of our politics.”

He stressed that as Delta State and the entire country inch closer to another election, the UPU calls on all Urhobo politicians to play politics without killings, violence and bitterness.

“Do not shed the blood of any Urhobo person to achieve your political ambition. Power belongs to God and no one gets to a position without the knowledge of God,” he stressed.