Chief Patrick Eholor files criminal compliants to INEC and AGF then further drags the Edo state Chief of Staff and his thugs to NHRC over electoral violence, malpractice and sundry offences.
President of One love foundation, Chief Dr. Patrick Osagie Eholor, who is the Director of Contact and Mobilisation of Labour Party of Nigeria, today filed a criminal complaint both to INEC and AGF against the Chief of staff to Edo State in the person of Honourable Iyoha Osiagbovo and some thugs related to him.
Copies of the complaint, and letter written to INEC, AGF and filed before the National human rights commission made available to newsmen, complained and narrated how the Chief of staff to Edo state Governor, alongside his thugs perpetuated violence, electoral violence, and other sundry criminal offences, on voters of the George Idah primary school and the further attempt to kill Mr Patrick Eholor by the said Mr osiagbovo and thugs, He then by this complaint called for the intervention of the authorities to come to his aid and ensure that justice is done to his petters, complaint to INEC and AGF by further filing of direct criminal complaint against Hon osiagbovo Iyoha.
However, in earlier reports , Chief Patrick Eholor stated and narrated what transpired between him and Hon. Iyoha on 18th March 2023 Gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections, that after voting in his place in Ovia North East to vote, there were lots of distress calls. “ I can not be everywhere.
"I engaged myself to do what I can to make sure there is peace and harmony between us because after the election we are still the same people. We are still Nigerians. However, I was at George Idah Primary School around 6.00pm, I saw the Chief Of Staff(COS) to the State Governor (Governor Godwin Obaseki), Osaigbovo Iyoha, trying to intimidate the voters. I told him that it will never be possible, therefore, I called the Director of DSS, may God continue to bless her as she sent a Hilux of DSS men in, within five minutes. When the Hilux arrived with the DSS men, Iyoha and Thomas Aroko disappeared into thin air. We couldn’t find them."
“ I remained resolute. I stood there. After the collation of results in Idah Primary School they took the ballot boxes to Urhokpota Hall, the Police were standing, Labour Party were winning overwhelmingly, in the presence of the police they were changing the results. I said that it cannot happen, not when I am alive, I have been doing this for about 30 years, I have always been on the side of the people, that Iyoha authorized some notorious thugs who are not ready to be liberated, you know what that means? That they should Kill me. But I resisted them."
“ Thank God for the life of Austin V Boot. That’s what they call him, he said not in my time, Ultimate Equals will not die here, he protected me, I was hurriedly taken to the car so I can leave, the Police were standing there doing nothing, What were the police doing? They took oath to save lives and properties. I called the Commissioner of Police (Dankwara) many times, I sent him a text message, he promised to call me back but never call back. If you see things going wrong you say nothing or you do nothing, it means you are culpable. It means you accept what is going on.”
But in a swift reaction, Iyoha when contacted, denied the allegation and said that Eholor came to disrupt the process of collation in the centre.
Iyoha said “I am shocked at this allegation which ordinarily should not merit a response. However, we were at the collation centre and I was assisting in collating the result of my ward, I was engrossed in the process and suddenly I started hearing grumblings and noises I was forced to look up then I saw that somebody was being pushed out and he was shouting, but to ensure that there was peace, I immediately told somebody to help calm the situation and I am shocked he is now holding me responsible."
“If I may ask, was he supposed to be in that place at that time of the election? There are laws guiding elections and in a collation centre, there are regulations guiding who should be there and how they should conduct themselves so was he expected to be there at that time he concluded.
As at press time, no official reaction from INEC, AGF and executive secretary of NHRC, but in swift hours, the press expect their response, to this direct, criminal complaint filed, letter and official complaint filed against Osiagbovo Iyoha and his thugs.