By Douglas Okoro
Mr Ejike Agbo, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi and an aspirant for Ebonyi State House of Assembly, has raised alarm over threats to his life by some persons in the party.
Agbo, an aspirant for the House of Assembly for Ohaukwu South State Constituency, raised the alarm during a press briefing on Monday in Abakaliki.
He said he has been receiving threatening messages from unknown persons due to his decision to challenge the primaries in the court.
He alleged that after the primaries, his car was stolen during a meeting in Enugu and efforts to track the car had proved abortive.
According to him, the police, after investigations, told him that he should forget about the car as its disappearance was politically motivated.
He called on the police in the state to protect himself and his family even as he vowed to go ahead with the court case.
He said: “I want the whole world to know what is happening, that there are threats to my life and my family. And because of the ongoing insecurity in the country, one will not want to take chances.
“They want to set me up and victimize me because I have a divergent opinion from those in charge and because I went to court to challenge the outcome of the primary.
“My phones have been inundated with calls from hidden private numbers threatening me and my family.
“They are plotting to assassinate me, they are also planning to bring up frivolous criminal allegations and even institute a secret criminal trial against me.
“They plan to arrest me and remand me in prison and incarcerate me till after the elections as a means to shut me up if the assassination attempt fails.
“I call on the Commissioner of Police and Department of State Security (DSS) to provide me and my family with adequate security and to look into the matter to arrest and prosecute all those involved.”
Agbo, State Ex-Officio member from Ezzangbo ward, noted that he has appealed the Judgement of the Federal High Court in the matter.
He expressed disappointment with the ruling of the High Court which declined to continue hearing the matter he instituted against the APC and others.
Agbo sued the APC, the member representing Ohaukwu South in the House of Assembly and the candidate of the party, Mr Chinedu Onah, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Onah and Agbo had emerged from parallel primaries of the party for the constituency ticket on May 26.
However, Agbo, in the suit FHC/ABJ/CS/823/2022 alleged that at the time the sale of forms for the primary election of the APC ended, Onah was still a member of the PDP as pronounced by a Federal High Court in suit no HAB/31/2022.
However, Justice Fatima Murtala-Aminu, in a judgement delivered on December 5, declined to hear the matter due to conflicting affidavits.
“This Hon. court, having been fortified by the recent judicial authority, hereby toe the same line and declines to hear the matter because of the conflicting affidavits.
“And this suit being sui generis, a pre-election matter that would be extinguished at the end of today being under the provision of the Electoral Act, 2022, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, this matter is hereby dismissed,” the Judge declared. (NAN)
