Edo State Police told witnesses that an “order from above” instructed them to detain Edo North Unity Forum leader Okhai Okhani after vigilante brutally assaulted him for no reason on Saturday.
On Saturday, when the Edo North Unity Forum was to hold its town hall meeting, soldiers showed up to provide security, but the event took a disastrous turn before it even began at 11 am.
A member who wished to stay anonymous described the forum as a pressure group that offers recommendations and demands accountability from its leaders in Edo North and the state.
“The group has always been in the forefront of pressuring many Edo North politicians to do better for its people especially, Adams Oshiomhole, DANCO (the Etsako HOR member), Jarett Tenebe and others,” the forum’s member said.
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On the set date for its town hall meeting, which was supposed to be an avenue for “elected representatives to come to showcase what they have done and what they also plan to do”, state-backed vigilantes stormed the venue and destroyed items for the events.
Upon identifying Okhani, they began to beat him up.
A witness told FIJ that the soldiers who were around in the morning had left when the vigilantes showed up.
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When Okhani had been beaten and taken away, no member of the forum knew where he was taken to. Some of the members went to report at the Auchi Area Command, and their arrival coincided with his detention there. Okhani was in police custody until later in the day when he was released.
“They just dumped him with the Area Command in Auchi without any reason. Even the police didn’t give any tangible reason other than saying its an order from above,” the forum member added.
“That was what was communicated to those who went there to visit him. The main reason for the beating and subsequent arrest isn’t clear to date. The venue for the event was destroyed and many phones were carted away, some of which were later recovered in the police station but others are still missing till now.”
The source also said that Lawrence Adjihu, an Auchi ACP, had promised to be at the event but he failed to show up.
FIJ called Moses Yamu, the Edo Police Public Relations Officer, on Monday but he did not answer the phone calls. He had yet to also respond to a text message.
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