Ondo: Yahaya Bello’s Police Escorts Batter Journalist At APC Primary Election Venue

Some policemen attached to the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, mercilessly beat Friday Otabor, who is the correspondent of The Nation in Ondo State on Monday.

Bello is the chairman of the All Progressives Congress Primary Election Committee in Ondo State and he had gone to the venue of the poll where his escorts descended on Otabor for not wearing the accreditation tag.

Otabor was covering the poll at
the International Conference Centre, Akure, when he was accosted and brutalised by the power-drunk policemen who gave him no opportuity to explain why he did not wear the tag.

Although Otabor had earlier shown The Nation’s Identity card to the policemen, they went ahead to rain punches on him as well as vicious kicks .

The police refused to listen to the explanations by officials of the Nigeria Union of Journalists who intervened to rescue the journalist.

They threw the batteted reporter out of the venue when they were satisfied with the beating.

Otabor,who sustained injuries was rushed to hospital by his colleagues where he was treated.

Meanwhile, Bello has assured the people that the governorship primary election will be credible.

He said the most popular aspirant would emerge the candidate of the party after the exercise , stressing that the committee would not do anything to subvert the will of the poeple

Bello while addressing the delegates shortly before the commencement of the exercise, said all members of the committee have integrity and would not compromise it for any reason.

He said he had already held a meeting with all the aspirants and said none of them raised objection to any of the guidelines for the election.

However, only five out of the 12 governorship aspirants of the party were present at the venue of the primary election.

The aspirants present are: Governor Rotimi Akeredolu; Chief Olusola Oke; Chief Olaide Odunlami; Mr Olusola Iji and Mr Isaacs Kekemeke.

Although three of the aspirants; Ife Oyedele, Olusegun Abraham and Jimi Odimayo had steeped down for Akeredolu, others did not give reason for boycotting the exercise.