C’River PDP Senate Bye-election Primaries Turn Bloody, Two killed By Thugs

By Emmanuel Una

Two young men were reportedly killed by thugs a few hours to the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Primaries in the Northern Senatorial District of Cross River State.

Reports from the area indicate that crisis happened on Friday evening when some youths in the company of Emmanuel Egwu, the Secretary of the PDP chapter for Yala Local Government Area who were on their way to Ogoja stopped over at the home of Mrs Stella Odey, the Cross River State Commissioner for Local Government but when they wanted to proceed on their journey, Egwu was not allowed to leave since he is one of the voters for the Senate primaries scheduled for Saturday.

“Mr John Ulafor the Commissioner for Grants and Empowerment who is from the same area with the boys was said to have invited Emmanuel Egwu to stop over and see him which of the young man did but when he wanted to leave he was asked not to go since all the delegates from the local government area are camped in that place but he insisted on leaving and eventually crisis started and he was attacked with his boys leading to the death of Charles Onwe and another one in the hospital last night”. Okoro Igbang an eye witness narrated.

Her said Egwu is a supporter of Mr Jarigbe Agom, the member representing the Ogoja/ Yala Federal constituency in the House of Representatives who is a contender for the Senate ticket of the party and those who invited Egwu to Stella Odey’s house thought he would change his mind and support Dr Stephen Odey who is also contesting for the ticket.

“Allegations that he led thugs to attack Stella Odey’s house is not true. How can just three boys attack over two hundred people gathered in that place in the presence of mobile policemen who were guarding the delegates?”

Igbang said the policemen only shot into the air to scare the thugs who were attacking the boys but that did not deter them as they went on hitting them with stone and machetes. Ms Irene Ugbo, the Cross River Police Command spokesman did not pick her calls when our reporter contacted her. Vanguard News Nigeria

– Vanguard (with the exception of input on the headline and introduction)