Rita Enemuru, Reporting
INDIGENES of Oviorie community in Ethiope East Local Government Area gathered on the eve of Thursday to celebrate the release of Vincent Aki, a social commentator popularly known as MC Aproko, with a call for the disbandment of the vigilance group in the community.
Mr Aki was released on Thursday, May 4th from the Correctional Centre, after an arrest that sparked widespread protests and condemnation on social media.
Stonix News previously reported that the commentator was taken into custody following a dispute with the chairman of Ethiope East Local Government Area, Augustine Usenefe Ogedegbe, over remarks concerning neglected roads and schools in the community.
In the wake of his release, the Oviorie-Ovu community youths have called for the disbandment of the local vigilante organisation.
In a letter addressed to the Oviorie Community Council of Elders, the Divisional Police Officer of Isokolo Police Station, the Commissioner of Police for Delta State, and the Ovu Development Union, the group alleged that the vigilante had been co-opted for political purposes.
The letter, signed by community representatives Omonigho Glory, Sunday Ochuko, Marvelous Jehwo and Ejoke Ogheneovo, was made available to Stonix News on Friday, May 5th.
According to the document, the vigilante group has allegedly been used to intimidate youths who participated in peaceful protests calling for MC Aproko’s release. The letter claimed that certain members of the vigilante had aided individuals outside the community in making threats against protesters, and that some youths had been assaulted and injured as a result.
The group demanded that the vigilante be disbanded immediately and replaced by a more competent body, selected by the elders’ council, that would operate in accordance with community rules and regulations.
“We can no longer condone their excesses,” the letter stated. “The vigilante has deviated from the purpose for which it was set up.”
The letter further questioned whether the local government chairman had addressed any of the infrastructure concerns raised by MC Aproko, including the state of roads and the deplorable condition of Ovu College in Urhodo.
The youths emphasised that they were law-abiding citizens and had resorted to formal complaint only after what they described as persistent intimidation. They urged the council of elders to act in the best interests of the community without placing personal considerations above the common good.
As of press time, the local government chairman and the vigilante group had not issued a public response to the allegations.
