Electoral Violence, Killings In Rivers: I Was Attacked, My Hotel Destroyed, By Soldiers – Ex-CTC Boss
A former Caretaker Chairman of Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State, Hon. Chisom Kenneth Gbali, has testified that he was attacked by soldiers in Oyigbo during the Governorship and State House of Assembly Elections in Rivers State which held on 9th of March, 2019, adding that soldiers also allegedly attacked his Vulgate Hotel in the local government area.
He testified on Tuesday before the Commission of Inquiry set up to investigate the violence and killings that allegedly took place Rivers State in the 2019 General Elections.
Testifying at the commission’s inaugural sitting, the former Caretaker Chairman said: “I was attacked on the 10th of March, 2019 by the military at about 10am in the morning. My hotel, Vulgate Hotel, was damaged. The Nigerian Army invaded my place and invaded the hotel with three Hilux Vans. They entered on the information that the entire stakeholders of PDP in Oyigbo local government was there.
“When they entered, we were not there. They started breaking the doors, glasses of the buildings. I went upstairs to the second floor of one of the buildings. They broke into the burglary. I had to jump off from the second floor. I jumped off to the first roof. I later landed at the fence of my hotel behind the building and when I fell, the soldiers were already pointing gun at me. I stuck my face in the bush as he was hitting me from my back and pretended that I had passed out. As the soldier was hitting me from my back, – the one next to him said ‘see am, he don die, see dem, he don die, criminals’ and the one behind me said ‘No, he never die, he never die, hin dey breathe’. Then the other one drew close. They saw I was bleeding and lifeless”.
Gbali said that the soldiers left him as they said ‘nbus’ and rushed back into their vehicles and drove away.
He said that he was taken to Life Care Hospital in the local government area by his chef, saying that medical personnel at the hospital stitched wounds in his legs and head.
The former caretaker chairman of Oyigbo local government area testified based on a memorandum he jointly submitted with others to the commission on behalf of Oyigbo branch of the Peoples Democratic Party.
On Tuesday’s inaugural sitting, the Chairman of the Commission, Justice Monima Danagogo, said that the commission was set up by Governor Nyesom Wike to investigate the “remote and immediate” causes of the violence and killings in Rivers State in this year’s general elections.
He said that the commission is also to identify victims of the violence and identify any motives behind the violence and killings in the elections and make recommendations.
While thanking everyone for attending the commission’s inaugural sitting, Justice Danagogo said that the commission would impartially consider every memorandum submitted to it and would also grant audience to everyone mentioned in each memoranda.
