- Obaseki Condemns Attack As Suspected Thugs Strip Cousin Naked In Benin
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Attackers took him to Oba’s palace after abducting him.
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Former governor demands justice, police intervene.
Suspected political thugs on Sunday assaulted and stripped the Chief Executive Officer of Hosamudia Farm, Don Pedro Obaseki, naked in Benin City, Edo State.
A video circulating on social media showed Obaseki, a cousin of former Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, being attacked while playing football at Uwa Primary School.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that witnesses said the assailants abducted him from the field and took him to the Oba of Benin’s palace, where they allegedly forced him to kneel at the palace gate.
The attackers reportedly told palace guards that they had brought an “Oghion (enemy) of Oba” to the premises.
Some palace chiefs, who spoke in Bini language, warned the thugs against causing unrest, explaining that the Oba was on his way to the Holy Arousa Cathedral for a thanksgiving service marking the end of the Igue festival.
One of the chiefs said, “Today is thanksgiving day at the Holy Arousa. We don’t want any trouble. If there is anybody that counts himself as an enemy of the Oba, allow him and see how he will end up.”
Despite resistance from the thugs, the palace chiefs eventually took Obaseki into the palace.
Reacting to the incident, former Governor Godwin Obaseki condemned the attack in a statement, describing it as a grave violation of fundamental human rights and a blatant disregard for the rule of law.
“I strongly condemn the violent attack on my cousin, Dr. Pedro Obaseki, by armed thugs. Dr Obaseki, a former Managing Director of DAAR Communications and a renowned journalist, was attacked at Uwa Primary School, where he was subjected to physical assault, intimidation, and torture by the armed thugs before being forcefully taken to the palace,” he said.
Obaseki urged security agencies to carry out a thorough and transparent investigation to ensure that those responsible were brought to justice.
“A situation where thugs and non state actors appear to freely take the law into their own hands on behalf of high profile individuals and those in positions of authority can only result in one outcome, a degeneration into a state of anarchy, which will do no one any good,” he warned.
He also called on human rights organisations, civil society groups and concerned Nigerians to speak out against what he described as a gross violation of human rights.
In response, the Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, Eno Ikoedem, said the situation had been brought under control. He added that the Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, had met with all parties involved.
