By Emma Amaize
WARRI — NATIONAL President of the Ighele r’ Urhobo (youth wing) of the Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, in Delta State, Mr Avwerosuoghene Okoro, who was summoned on Wednesday, by the Police in Abraka, over the recent fracas in Eku, alleged, yesterday, that his life was under threat.

Another youth leader (names withheld) raised a similar alarm, yesterday, saying, he and a number of others had received death threats not to go to the Abraka Police Station to make any statement to the police.

Information available to Vanguard indicated that Okoro was released on bail on Wednesday, by the police at Abraka and asked to come back, yesterday.

A police source, however, said the matter was transferred to the Police Area Command in Ughelli, yesterday.

Okoro, who made statement to the police in the Area Command, Ughelli, maintained, in an interview that six alleged assassins, in deed, stormed his Eku residence to kill him on Monday evening.

He expressed shock that the police were turning the case against him because they wanted to cover the involvement of a policeman from Okpara Inland, who was arrested by the Eku Vigilance group and handed over to the Eku police.

“They want to cover him up because it will confirm the fact that their men were used as hired assassins,” he said.

He said while he was away to answer the invitation of the police at Abraka on Wednesday, another set of policemen came from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Asaba came to Eku in search of him, and when they were asked to drop their invitation with the police in Eku, they refused.

In his words, “There is absolute threat to my life now and the police are fully involved.
His lawyer, Ejiro Etaghene told Vanguard at about 6.00 pm, “We are just leaving the Ughelli Area Command; my client was interrogated for a very long time, for four hour I believe, over alleged assault on UPU leaders”.

He said the threat to his life was real and that his client was ready to defend himself of the allegations against him and those sending hired killers after him have something to hide.

The present crisis in Urhobo land erupted when Urhobo youths who were against the planned dissolution of the
Avweroruoghene_led executive stormed the meeting of the UPU at the Ughelli residence of the president general, Olorogun Felix Ibru and beat the daylight out the leaders, including the acting president, Major_General Patrick Aziza (rtd), a former Minister of Communications.

They claimed Gen. Aziza wanted to hijack the leadership of the youth group and instead of holding an election as specified by the constitution of the Ighele, he was bent on dissolving the Okoro-executive and installing his boys as interim leaders.
Vanguard confirmed yesterday that the GSM handset of the ex-army officer, among others was stolen in the process. Aziza could not be reached on phone as result.