Secret Reporters No place to hide
The People’s Democratic Party, (PDP)’s Secretary of Ward 10 (Idumuesah) in Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State, Mr Lucky Ijegbulem was recently attacked and beaten to coma by some sponsored hoodlums while carrying out the Party’s assignments in the Ward. Speaking to Newsmen shortly after a meeting with his kinsmen who paid him a solidarity visit at his Boji Boji Owa residence, on Saturday 14th January 2017, Mr Ijegbulem, a retired Principal, (Merit Grade) narrated his ordeals in the hands of the hoodlums.
He said ”on 22nd December 2016, I, my Ward Chairman, Hon Emmanuel Tudebi and other officials of the Ward got a message from the Party’s LGA that we were needed at Legend Hotel, Boji Boji Owa, to take delivery of some Xmas items meant for the party’s faithful in our ward.’ We went and took delivery of the items and decided to distribute it among the Quarters in the Ward as was normally done.’
‘As we were distributing the items, some hoodlums, wading dangerous weapons and on motorbikes overtook our Vehicle, blocked the road and forcefully ordered the driver to stop, the touts descended on me with heavy punches without provocations.
They pulled me out of the Vehicle while hitting me with anything they could lay hands on. They repeated kicked and dragged me along the road. I lost consciousness. I was unconscious for some minutes before I was taken to the Hospital.’ ‘I know the hoodlums; they are Favour Egbule, Samson Egbule and Onyeka Egbule who attacked me with dagger and other deadly weapons. I later learnt that they hijacked the items and diverted it to the residence of their sponsors, one Chief P. M. Egbule and cohorts.”
On his present health conditions, Mr Ijegbulem said, ” Well, I am getting better but I am seriously impaired by the damages to the inner organs of my ears, as we speak, I hardly hear your questions, I cannot yawn or chew anything. I still get series of painful sensations inside my ears and around the left side of my head.’ ‘I have been refered to a Specialist for futher treatments.”
He stated that he knew the sponsors of the touts and that he had incidented the case with the Police at Owa Oyibu but that no arrest have been made. Also speaking to our reporter, a spokesperson of Noho family, his kinsmen, Pastor Chibuogwu C. O. Who was flanked by the leader of the delegation, Mr John Alika, Mr Dumbiri Iroroh and other menbers of the family, said that the entire family were enraged and angered by the battery and assualt metted on their brother. In his words, ”we are here to see our brother, to find out how he is recovering from the injuries he sustained following the brutal attack on him by some criminal elements in our community. We are here to join him to thank God for saving his life from the hands of those evil men.
We are here to give him solidarity support.’ ‘As you can see Noho family is a very large family, we are enraged when we heard that our brother, a retired Principal for that matter was merciless assaulted and dragged along the road almost half naked for no reasonable excuses whatsoever.” When ask what the family planned to do about the incident, Pastor Chibuogwu said,”we are peace loving family, we are very civilized too, we do not go the way of barbarians otherwise so much blood would have been shed in the community by now, however, we have resolved to use legitimate means to ensures that those who unleashed their mad dogs on our brother will not go scot free.”
When our correspondent contacted the PDP Ward 10 Chairman, Hon Emmanuel Tudebi, for his comments, he confirmed the incident and stated that though he was not there when the assault on the Secretary began, he rushed to the scene as soon as he heard about it and assisted in rescuing him from the thugs and have him taken to the Hospital for medical attentions.
Calls made to the PDP Chairman Ika North East LGA Chief Godwin Ogadi for his comments on the incident were not responded to and SMS delivered to his line have not been replied as at the time of filling this report.
