On Thursday, December 7th, 2023, Popular News was in the Edo State House of Assembly Complex to observe the meeting of the House Committee on Public Petitions with the clerics of the International Christian Centre which houses the Home for the Needy Foundation where the Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs) Camp is situated in Uhogua Community of Ovia North East Local Government Area.
Merely had those of us in the Committee Room sat down to wait for the commencement of the business of the day when some policemen led by one Aigbogun Odianose came to ask everyone to go out of the hall so that they can start the process of readmittance after proper identification.
The process commenced by way of the police asking the two sides in the dispute to present their list of members. The list that the community presented as its members to be admitted into the hall contained more than 15 members who were all allowed access into the hall.
On its part the clerics of the International Christian Centre had less than 10 of its members waiting to be given admittance into the hall but the police team were not ready to admit all of them into the hall.
Popular News attempt to gain access into the hall even as a proper Identity Card as a Journalist was brandished did not go down well with a character in the midst of the community people(who it was later learnt is a ward chairman of one of the political parties).
He bellowed some unprintable words at Popular News and warned that the reporter should not be given access to the Committee Room. The fellow was insistent that the ‘aproko Journalist’ should not be allowed into the Committee Room.
Aigbogun Odianose ordered the reporter out of the Assembly Complex just as an improperly kitted police orderly spotting a dark eye glasses backed up his boss order with a quick corking of his gun and pointing the nozzle in the direction of the ‘aproko Journalist’.
The party ward chairman could be heard like a field commander shouting on top of his voice that the ‘aproko Journalist’ would be given the worst treatment of his life and “nothing will happen.”
As Popular News headed out of the Assembly Complex premises a bigger drama was going on outside the Complex. A horde of Uhogua Community people made up of youths, widows and indigent people who had arrived in a motley of about ten commercial buses to give support to the clerics and attest to the Foundation’s life saving operations were barred from entering the Complex purportedly by “orders from above.”
Investigations by Popular News revealed that the International Christian Centre legally acquired the land in Uhogua since 16 years ago.
Popular News reliably gathered that the anti IDPs Camp campaign was initiated by the political party ward chairman in the aftermath of the 2023 Presidential election. Seeing that his party may not be able to manipulate the voting process in its favour the party chairman was alleged to have openly complained that inhabitants of the Uhogua IDPs Camp were not voting for his party. Thus he threatened to deal with them come what may.
When the next election which was to the state House of Assembly was held the IDPs inhabitants were given the worst treatment of their lives at the polling booths where they queued up to exercise their civic responsibility as they were attacked and shot at for no congent reason leading to many of them sustaining life threatening injuries.
At the moment a horde of the fatally injured IDPs Camp inhabitants have for almost 10 months after the unprovoked attack on them been bed ridden hanging on between life and death.
The clerics of the International Christian Centre Uhogua was still soliciting for support to get relief for the injured IDPs inhabitants when they were invited by the Edo State House of Assembly standing Committee on Public Petitions on allegations of “sponsoring community crises, threat to life and conduct likely to cause the breach of peace and break down of law and order by one Pastor Solomon Folorunsho and his cohorts.”
Stories flying around in the grapevine is that the ward party chairman is acting the script of some power brokers who are plotting to disorganise the centre for reasons best known to them.
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