Former Delta State APC Treasurer and Secretary-General of Uwheru Kingdom, Olorogun Edewor Stephen Akpedafe, has accused Ughelli North Local Government Chairman, Chief Jaro Egbo, of personally leading a violent assault that left him hospitalised after a meeting convened to resolve a boundary dispute involving an oil well.
Speaking from his hospital bed at Central Hospital, Ughelli, on Tuesday night, Akpedafe alleged that what began as a peace meeting at the residence of Olorogun Miller Uloho, Chairman of the Ughelli North Local Government Advisory Committee, turned into a coordinated attack after he challenged the presence of Chief Hon. MacPherson Igbedi at the meeting.
According to Akpedafe, the meeting was organised by the Local Government Advisory Committee to address the dispute between Evwreni Kingdom (Unenurhie) and Uwheru Kingdom, with five representatives selected from each clan.
He said trouble started when Igbedi introduced himself as the President-General of Uwheru.
“I said no, that he was not the President-General of Uwheru. That was my only observation,” Akpedafe recounted.
He alleged that Chief MacPherson Igbedi subsequently left the meeting and made telephone calls, shortly after which two mobile policemen attached to the council chairman and the chairman’s Chief Security Officer, identified as Mr. Jumbo, arrived.
“They started manhandling me and when I asked what my offence was, they responded that the council chairman asked them to bring me,” he alleged.
Akpedafe said his attempt to resist being forcibly taken away was met with further aggression, adding that the development angered some members of the advisory committee who questioned why the council chairman would order someone removed from a meeting at Uloho’s residence.
The former APC treasurer alleged that Egbo later arrived at the scene with three Sienna vehicles and about 50 men.
“Jaro Egbo came with three Sienna vehicles and about 50 thugs. He and MacPherson immediately came down, and Egbo landed the first punch on me. His thugs all joined in beating me,” he alleged.
Akpedafe further claimed that he was forced into a Hilux vehicle, where the two mobile policemen allegedly continued assaulting him with gun butts while he was being taken to the council secretariat.
He alleged that the assault became even more severe at the secretariat gate.
“Jaro said they should burst my head. They used all sorts on me, including planks and blocks,” he claimed.
Akpedafe said the injuries sustained during the alleged assault have affected his mobility, claiming that an X-ray examination indicated that he suffered an injury to his waist.
“I can’t even walk properly now. An X-ray showed my waist was dislocated,” he said.
“Egbo said anybody supporting Omo-Agege, he will unalive—the person will not survive,” he alleged, adding that the chairman was allegedly recording the incident while boasting that anyone working with Omo-Agege would suffer the same fate.
The allegation has added a political dimension to what was ostensibly a local dispute requiring mediation.
Akpedafe maintained that the controversy surrounding the Uwheru presidency-general is already before the courts, with cases pending at the High Court and Magistrate Court. He also said traditional rulers in Urhobo land had been intervening in an attempt to prevent the dispute from escalating.
He alleged that the assault was connected to an attempt to impose Igbedi as President-General of Uwheru against the wishes of of the community.
“Their intention is to kill me. He wants to impose MacPherson as President-General of Uwheru at all cost against the wish of Uwheru people,” Akpedafe alleged.
Recounting what he described as the most degrading part of the incident, he said he was allegedly left lying on the bare ground after the beating.
“After beating me, they used me to lie on bare floor and forced me to face the sun while I was in a pool of my blood. Only Egbo was doing the videoing,” he said.
Akpedafe appealed to the state government and security authorities to intervene before the dispute degenerates into a wider crisis in Uwheru.
“I am calling on the government to come to the aid of Uwheru. Jaro Egbo and MacPherson want to cause a crisis in Uwheru, and they want to kill me,” he said.
He disclosed that the Area Commander, Ughelli Area Command, upon seeing his condition, directed that he be immediately taken to Central Hospital, Ughelli, where he is currently receiving treatment.
As of press time, Akpedafe remained hospitalised with injuries to his head, waist and other parts of his body.
The police authorities have also yet to publicly comment on the allegations, including the claim that mobile policemen attached to the council chairman participated in the alleged assault.
When contacted, the Chairman of Ughelli North Local Government Area, Jaro Egbo, denied all the allegations and described Akpedafe as a “foolish man” whom he accused of being problematic in the local government area.
However, he admitted that Akpedafe had to be taught a lesson.
“Leave that idiot, he’s an idiot. He went to disrupt a meeting he was not invited to, a meeting called by a man of 92 years. He went there to disrupt the meeting. He has a series of cases of his nefarious activities in Uwheru Kingdom,” Egbo said.
N:B Ughelli North Local Government Council Chairman, Jaro Egbo reaction was culled from Sahara Reporter
