Suspected political thugs on Sunday stripped the Chief Executive Officer of Hosamudia Farm, Don Pedro Obaseki, naked in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
In a video circulating online, Obaseki, a cousin of former Governor Godwin Obaseki, was attacked while playing football at Uwa Primary School.
The assailants reportedly abducted him and took him to the Oba’s palace, forcing him to kneel at the palace gate.
The thugs told palace guards that they had brought in an “Oghion (enemy) of Oba.”
Some palace chiefs, speaking in Bini, warned the thugs against causing disturbances, noting that the Oba was en route to the Holy Arousa Cathedral for a thanksgiving service marking the end of the Igue festival.
One chief said, “Today is thanksgiving day at the Holy Arousa. We don’t want any trouble. If there is anybody that counts himself as an enemy of the Oba, allow him and see how he will end up.”
The chiefs eventually took Obaseki inside the palace despite protests from the thugs.
Former Governor Obaseki condemned the attack in a statement, describing it as a “grave violation of fundamental human rights and a reckless disregard for the rule of law.”
He said, “I strongly condemn the violent attack on my cousin, Dr. Pedro Obaseki, by armed thugs. Dr Obaseki, a former Managing Director of DAAR Communications and a renowned journalist, was attacked at Uwa Primary School, where he was subjected to physical assault, intimidation, and torture by the armed thugs before being forcefully taken to the palace.”
Obaseki urged security agencies to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation to hold the perpetrators accountable.
“A situation where thugs and non-state actors appear to freely take the law into their own hands on behalf of high-profile individuals and those in positions of authority can only result in one outcome, a degeneration into a state of anarchy, which will do no one any good,” he warned.
He further called on human rights organisations, civil society groups, and well-meaning Nigerians to speak out against the injustice and gross violation of human rights.
In response, Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, Eno Ikoedem, stated that the situation had been brought under control, noting that the Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, had met with the parties involved.
