During the week, Olumide Akpata, a former Labour Party (LP) candidate for Edo State governor, recounted how he and other African Democratic Party (ADC) officials, including 2027 presidential contender Peter Obi, managed to avoid murder in Benin City.
After suspected assassins attacked an ADC gathering in Edo State, it was stated that Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State, had his motorcade peppered with gunfire.
During Akpata’s official admission to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Benin City, Obi and others faced criticism.
When describing what transpired, Akpata stated, “The transportation of some of us to ADC was scheduled for 11 o’clock on that specific day.
However, it took place around one o’clock. Additionally, we received information from generally trustworthy sources that the ADC Secretariat would be attacked.
Thus, we are instructed to expedite our event. That’s why we made an effort to move as fast as possible. After leaving the premises, we went to Chief John Oyegun’s home in the GRA. When we arrived, we were informed that the ADC Secretariat had been attacked as soon as we had gone.
“Yes, my cousins had accompanied me. Friends of mine had accompanied me. They were hurt, some of them. In actuality, one relative had a bottle broken on her head. It was not a case of somebody saying, as we say, I have first-hand knowledge of… and I am very, very believable because of what happened that day.
“We were taking pictures and having a conversation outside Oyegun’s front door when we noticed what appeared to be a double drive by. Some guys drove by the home and began shooting. The entrance door and the gates are somewhat of a distance apart.
“There is a driveway, but the shooting was so intense that the SSS, DSS, and other men who were with us had to push us back into the sitting room. We stayed there for another twenty minutes until the attackers had left, at which point we went outside to look at the damage and all of the cars that were there.
“I have no doubt that people would have perished if they had been seated in those carriages. You could see the gates, the bullet wounds, and everything else. Thus, that was the day’s events.
“I don’t agree with your assertion that the Edo state government said this was an intraparty issue. I don’t think many people will believe that the problems that occurred at the ADC the day before, involving people I personally know and know very well, won’t lead to armed guys coming to the center of GRA in the afternoon and firing weapons.
“I believe that the message being conveyed to the electorate is that you should stay at home because participating in this process will put your life in peril. People start to grow unwilling to participate, which is an attack on democracy.
