In the state capital of Edo State, Olumide Akpata, the Labour Party’s candidate for governor, has detached himself and his associates from the recent attack at the University of Benin Staff Club.
Rather, he reiterated that the attack was supported by a “highly-placed Edo State Government official who has been pulling the strings behind the scenes and orchestrating mayhem,” adding that students of the school were encouraged to make an “unrelenting campaign against me.”
This was disclosed in a message he released on Monday via his X handle. It was dated April 22, 2024 and was headed “Further statement regarding the unfortunate incident at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) Senior Staff Club.”
A fight broke out on the school grounds when Akpata, a guest at an interactive session hosted by the University of Benin Staff Club, was forcefully disrupted.
Upon seeing Dr. Presley Osemwegie, a university lecturer hurt in the attack, he revealed that the professor’s life had been “nearly taken by a brutal axe blow to the back of his head.”
The statement partly read, “I felt compelled to provide this further statement in respect of the deeply regrettable events that occurred at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) Senior Staff Club on Friday, 12th April 2024.
“As the attack unfolded, those present at the Staff Club will attest that upon realising that students may have been involved in the ugly incident, I immediately began to plead for leniency towards any such student.
“As a former student myself, I understood the grave consequences of such misguided actions on their futures. I made this same plea before the committee investigating the said incident, hoping to protect any student who may have been involved.
“However, emboldened by the apparent support of the highly-placed Edo State Government official who has been pulling the strings behind the scenes and orchestrating mayhem, some of these students have continued an unrelenting campaign against me, fabricating accounts completely lacking in truth – all seemingly in a bid to gain perceived political advantage for their benefactor.”
He called on the parents of the said students to “urgently intervene in the matter and extricate their children from the clutches of desperate politicians exploiting them,” noting that the politicians are “ready to jeopardise” the students’ lives for “immediate political gain,” at the expense of their education.
Additionally, Akpata urged the “desperate politicians” putting young people at danger to “kindly cease these reckless actions immediately,” stressing that the lives of the kids are more important than “any fleeting political agenda.”
The LP governorship candidate urged the populace to band together against “those who would stop at nothing to gain or hold onto power even at the expense of the next generation.”
The state police command had already invited the former president of the Nigerian Bar Association due to reports of security lapses, including shootings at the organization.
The invitation was sent to Akpata by investigators during the political desk session of the state Criminal Investigation Department on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, according to the command’s public relations officer, Chidi Nwabuzor, who made the announcement on Thursday in Benin City.
In the meantime, Kelly Ogbaloi, the Labour Party’s state chairman, acknowledged receiving the police invitation and clarified that Akpata’s private matter was unrelated to the party.
He said, “Olumide Akpata is our candidate, but UNIBEN invited him to honour him on a personal note. I didn’t sign surety of his safety there. I don’t know why the police are equally inviting me to come along with Olumide Akpata.
“The police ought to have done their background checks, his being honoured by UNIBEN had nothing to do with our party secretariat, so I don’t know why I am being asked to come along with him to police command headquarters in Benin. However, I will honour the invitation.”
