Anambra guber: How angry youths threatened to burn journalists alive

Some Journalists and election observers narrowly escaped being lynched by irate youths in Okija, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State…

Some journalists and election observers escaped being lynched by irate youths in Okija, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, on Saturday.

The journalists and observers are Afam Aminu Chimezie, Onitsha correspondent of Business News Newspaper, Gloria Anaeze, Onitsha Correspondent of Daily Independent Newspaper, Eche Nwaobasi also of Daily Independent Newspaper, and Onitsha Correspondent of Anambra State-owned Newspaper, National Light.

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They had gone to Okija, hometown of the AAC Governorship Candidate, Akachukwu Nwamkpo, to cover the election when some group of youths accosted them and demanded N100,000 from them as part of their “national cake”.

Gloria Anaeze, who spoke with Daily Trust, said the aggrieved youths threatened to burn the journalists and observers alive.

She said they were on the way to some of the polling centres in Okija Central School when they were attacked.

She said the team of the journalists and three election observers comprising two men and a woman decided to visit one of the community leader, Chief Dr. Daniel Chukwudozie, who was said to be away from the community, when they were accosted .

However, she said on their return from Chukwudozie’s house, a gang of hoodlums had barricaded the same road, wielding machetes.

She said they ordered the occupants to alight from their vehicles.

According to her, the hoodlums numbering about 20 demanded N100,000 as their own “share of the national cake”.

“They also accused the journalists and election observers of carrying huge sums of money meant for distribution to party agents and others to rig the election,” she said.

Gloria said despite pleading that they had no money to distribute to anybody, the hoodlums still demanded for their handsets and collected some of their belongings.

She said the hoodlums threatened to burn down the team’s car alongside the occupants after failing to force the team into their own car.

She said after much pleadings, they allowed them to go but warned them never to return to the community.

INEC has fixed a supplementary election for Tuesday in the area.