Enugu polls: LG chairman, supporter escape Irate youths over alleged vote-buying

Obiora Obeagu, the executive chairman of Enugu State’s Isi-Uzo Local Government Area, escaped being lynched on Saturday by the youths in his village.

During the governorship and House of Assembly elections, the chairman and an unnamed woman allegedly tried to buy votes in his polling place. As a result, they allegedly faced a mob.

Obeagu and Hon. Chijioke Edeoga, the Labour Party’s candidate for governor in Enugu State, are both from the same Eha-Amufu in the Isi-Uzo Local Government Area.

Journalists who were in the area to observe the election process were told by eyewitnesses that the chairman, a woman, and another allegedly came to the voting booth with money to bribe voters into voting for Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) rather than Labour Party (LP).

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“This morning, the Chairman of Isi-Uzo Local Government Area, Hon. Obeagu, came to this Polling Unit and called some people aside and started giving them money to make them vote for the ZLP,” the eyewitness recalled.

“Their goal was to stifle the support Chijioke Edeoga, the LP’s candidate for governor should receive in Isi-Uzo. We are grateful for the soldiers’ swift action.

He arrived along with a woman and another man. People were being urged to select the final logo on the ballot that features people. This seriously misled some of the villagers.

The nearby youths became aware of what was happening and chased him away. We also observed that the woman was acting in the same manner. Along with the man, the youths were also beating the woman.

The military had to intervene to prevent the man and the woman from being beaten into a coma by the already enraged youths. The soldiers detained them, but they were later freed and asked to leave the voting booth.

He continued by saying that the Council Chairman, Obeagu, was saved from the angry youths’ hands thanks to the soldiers’ prompt intervention.

Later, the police led him away from the polling place.

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When approached, Obeagu declined to comment on the incident, telling reporters that he was already having a lot of trouble in the area and that he was unable to speak.

In the early hours of Saturday, about 30 armed thugs were detained in various locations throughout Isi-Uzo.