SAN FRANCISCO, November 05, (THEWILL) – The Delta State Police Command Monday through its spokesperson, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Lucky Uyabeme, has said there was indeed an attempt to assassinate the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Victor Ochei, last Friday at Obomkpa, Aniocha North Local Government Area of the State.
The police spokesman also refuted an earlier statement credited to him by Sahara reporters saying he never had any direct or proxy interaction with the publication which has over time built a reputation for jaundiced and manipulated news reporting.
Mr Uyabeme who made this disclosure during an interactive session with journalists in his office at Asaba, said that “on Friday, November 1, 2013, the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon Victor Ochei was at Obomkpa in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State for a function, and there was an explosion under the chair he was supposed to sit on.”
He revealed further that the mystery the police are trying to unravel now is, how come local cannons were placed under the seat he (Ochei) was to sit on.
While insisting that he never had contact with the online medium, the spokesman said, “I am very surprised to see this publication by Sahara reporters. I don’t even know whether there is Sahara reporters correspondent in Delta State. In fact, I only spoke to The Sun Newspaper correspondent on the issue. I therefore urge members of the public to disregard the Sahara reporters publication as all what he stated there quoting me were all lies.”
Witnesses at the reception in Obomkpa told THEWILL that two cannons were concealed and placed under two seats designated for the Speaker. Only one of the cannons exploded throwing one of the seats into space. The other cannon is believed to be in police custody.
One person, a female, was severely wounded in the leg and presently being treated at the state run general hospital in Oghara.
Obomkpa is home to Mrs. Nkem Okwuofu, a notorious politician and chairman of the Delta State Civil Service Commission, who maintains a frosty relationship with Ochei.
THEWILL gathered from sources in Asaba that Okwuofu had boasted that she would do everything possible to abort the reception as she had earlier warned the Speaker to steer clear of Obomkpa.
Her constituents have linked her to at least two politically charged murders in her area though she was not prosecuted for them.
A suspect, who is an indigene of neighbouring Ugboba town and believed to be a blood relation of Mrs. Okwuofu, has been taken into custody by the police following the Obomkpa attempted assassination incident.
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