*Army arrests suspected gang leader

By Anayo Okoli

Aba – ACTION Congress of Nigeria, ACN, governorship candidate for Abia State in next month’s election, Prince Paul Ikonne, alleged yesterday that a luncheon organized for him by a group of clerics, under the aegis of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, was disrupted by some political thugs alleged to be members of Ochendo Mobilisation Group.

The group is one of the numerous political outfits of the incumbent governor of the state, Theodore Orji.
At a joint press briefing with some of the pastors who were present at the incident that took place Monday at Benetone Hotel, Aba, the pastors alleged that many of their colleagues  were wounded and  treated at various hospitals in Aba.

But Governor Orji, in a swift reaction, dismissed the allegation as baseless and a  figment of the imagination of the people behind it.

Abia State chairman of CAN, Bishop Goddy Okafor was said to be among the clergies that gathered for the ceremony.

According to Ikonne, whose accounts were corroborated by the clerics, four boys neatly dressed in suit invaded the hall, broke plates and destroyed chairs, disrupted the programmes and were making straight for  him  when soldiers on patrol, said to have been alerted by a woman, came in and arrested the leader of the gang.

The soldiers were said to have taken him to custody and the matter reported to Aba Area Police Command.

According to the clerics, the arrested gang leader gave his name as Chima  Michael Okike, who allegedly confessed that he was a leader of Ochendo Mobilisation Group instructed by the government to disrupt ACN rally anywhere in the state.

Ikonne specifically alleged that the government had been sending people to attack him and destroy his campaign posters and billboards.

He accused Governor Orji of intimidating opponents in the name of President Goodluck Jonathan and called on the President to ensure that his name was not used to perpetrate evil.

Dismissing the allegation as baseless, Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Kingsley Emereuwa, said:  “The whole thing is laughable because the governor has no reason to direct that Ikonne’s programme be disrupted as he did not see any political value of the ACN candidate to worry about.

“The governor is too busy to be distracted with all these useless talks. Today, the governor is at Ukwa West campaigning and in the past weeks, he has been on the road campaigning  while the opposition has been going round news rooms planting stories. And they are waiting for PDP to win and they will cry fowl. Now PDP is working, they are idling away.

“There is nothing more laughable than this allegation. Why would the governor want to disrupt Ikonne’s campaign?  What is his electoral value?  If the governor would disrupt his campaign, Ikonne cannot stand to narrate the experience. In any case, since they said they arrested one of the people, let the law take its toll and once again the governor has no business disrupting any body’s programme.”