My life threatened for challenging Emmanuel’s election at tribunal –Akwa Ibom ANRP guber candidate

Joe Effiong, Uyo

The governorship candidate for Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP) in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Iboro Otu, has raised the alarm that his life is in danger following his challenge of Governor Udom Emmanuel’s re-election at the election petition tribunal.

Otu who is the only governorship candidate aside Mr Nsima Ekere of the APC, challenging the Emmanuel’s victory at the March 2, 2019 governorship election, said he decided to go public with his ordeal after his campaign office along Edet Akpan Avenue, Uyo, was burgled last Wednesday by four unknown persons who carted away four of his laptops containing exhibits of election malpractices he would have tendered at the tribunal.

He said while he stopped the police from making an indiscriminate arrest of his neighbours except the security man, whose primary duty was to guard the premises, he was alarmed when on Thursday, two men invaded his office and threatened to kill him if he would not order for the immediate release of the security man.

“They fought with me threatening to throw me down from the window if the security man was not released. They claimed that it was they and not the landlord that hired the security man. They boasted of having connections in the state government and all that.

“I had to call the police and the DSS officials who came and took all of us to their office to make statement; and even at the DSS office, they were still threatening to kill me boasting that nothing would happen.

“I strongly believe that the burgling of my campaign office has a lot to do with my case at the tribunal because they did not pick any other thing apart from my laptops that contained videos, picture and other exhibits that I could have tendered to prove my case at the election petitions tribunal, because there were some other things in the office and they never touched them,” Otu said.

Confirming the incident, his lawyer, Mr Sunday Afiko, said his law firm was putting a petition to the security agencies to thoroughly investigate the threat made by the duo that stormed his client’s office.

Afiko said because of the incident, the security man who could have been released by the police had to remain in detention till all investigations on the day-light burglary were concluded to determine whether he was in any way culpable.