Edo LP Guber Candidate, Akpata Escapes Violent Attack in Benin City
LP Guber Candidate, Olumide Akpata
By Reporter
What should have been a memorable interactive session, award, and investiture ceremony by the UNIBEN Senior Staff Club, event on the grounds of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) yesterday, turned violent, when some persons invaded the venue.
The Labour Party (LP) gubernatorial candidate Olumide Osaigbovo Akpata who was a guest at the ceremony had to be hurried out by security operatives as the event was violently disrupted.
A group of young men, some who were identified to be students stormed the premises under the pretext that their permission was not sought.
The incident took place at the Professor Godwin Oshodin pavilion, where Akpata, an alumnus of UNIBEN, was seated and was prepared to engage with staff members, before the violent sects invaded the venue.
Allegations are swirling that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) allegedly orchestrated the attack. Some eyewitnesses insisted that the thugs were hired by the party to destabilize Akpata, who PDP may have considered a major threat to the ambition of their candidate in the upcoming Edo State gubernatorial election.
“The evidence points directly to the PDP’s involvement,” said one source. “These weren’t random students; they were organised and determined, and they clearly had specific orders to take out Olumide Akpata.”
The violent occurrence is a sharp contrast to a recent incident-free event held by the PDP candidate in the same UNIBEN staff club and this has fueled allegations that the PDP orchestrated the attack.
Further fueling these allegations, eyewitness accounts revealed that the thugs attempted to trap Akpata on the university grounds, and when that failed, they made their way to the ever busy Ugbowo-Lagos road.
Midwest Herald gathered that the irate mob blocked the entrance to the UNIBEN Staff Club, venue of the event, as well as a portion of the nearby Ugbowo Lagos to prevent Akpata from leaving, but he managed to break through their blockade with the aid of security personnel, who calmed the situation down and made sure no life was lost.
For the residents of Benin City and the broader Edo State, the ugly event has left an ominous pall over the coming electoral contest.
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