2015: Benue APC in free-for-all

The crisis rocking the Benue state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, deepened Thursaday resulting in a free-for-all by top officials of the party at its Makurdi Secretariat.
The crisis also led to the confiscation of primary election materials by House of Assembly aspirants  (names withheld) who also burnt them thereby rendering the primaries without result or evidence.
Vanguard gathered from one of the victims of the altercation and House of Assembly aspirant, Mr. Mike Utsaha that he was at the party secretariat for the party  primaries as directed by the committee in charge of the exercise.
He said, “I saw a Hilux van drive into the secretariat that was initially restricted only for aspirants and delegates.

” It was at that same time that I saw the state chairman coming down from his office upstairs. He started shouting and went straight to where the electoral committee members were. He forcefully grabbed the electoral materials, tore them in shreds and ordered everybody out of the secretariat”.
“One of the female member  of the committee who attempted to protest was pounced upon by the thugs that accompanied the chairman. I started recording everything that was happening and in the process, one of the boys informed the chairman of my action.
“The chairman violently approached me and hit me on the mouth insisting I must give him my iPhone. When I resisted, he directed the boys to ensure they took the phone from me. I was beaten up mercilessly same for some other persons”, he further narrated.”
Sources at the secretariat who craved anonymity confirmed the incident adding that but for the intervention of police officers at the secretariat who shot severally in the air, the fight would have escalated.
All efforts to reach the state chairman of APC, Mr. Abba Yaro, at the time of this report failed as his mobile phones were switched off
VANGUARD