The scheduled election of the Delta State chapter of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) was marred by chaos on Tuesday evening, following the reported invasion of the venue by suspected thugs.
According to information obtained by Chronicles Reporters, the suspected hoodlums allegedly assaulted key national officials of the organisation—Barrister Henry Ekine, the National Legal Adviser, and Idris Afeez, the National Publicity Secretary—bringing the electoral process to a halt.
Comrade Derrick Oritsematosan Agberen, a member of CDHR in Delta State and eyewitness to the incident, spoke on Wednesday and pointed fingers at the immediate past Delta State Chairman of the group, Comrade (Elder) A.P. Edariese. He alleged that Edariese was behind the invasion, claiming he brought the thugs to the venue in Ekete Community, Udu Local Government Area.
Agberen claimed that Edariese’s alleged motive was to forcefully install his son as the new State Chairman—an agenda that was rejected by many members of the group.
“The election was abruptly cut short around 7:30pm because of the disruption. Edariese fraudulently attempted to impose his son on the members, but the majority opposed it,” Agberen recounted.
He further alleged that Edariese manipulated the electoral structure by creating questionable units aimed at disenfranchising genuine members who did not support his agenda.
“He created fake units just to rig the election because the authentic units were against him,” Agberen added.
In light of the chaos, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of CDHR is reportedly preparing to establish a Caretaker Committee to manage the Delta State chapter temporarily until proper elections can be organised.
Agberen also voiced his disbelief over reports that a new executive was sworn in, allegedly after a fraudulent and unofficial process.
“We heard this morning that he went to his residence in Owhase and handpicked people, swearing them in as new executives. The NEC is aware of his conduct and is expected to act swiftly. Suspension is very likely,” he said.
Efforts to reach the National Legal Adviser, Mr. Ekine, for comment were unsuccessful as multiple calls to his phone were unanswered.
Similarly, all attempts to get a response from Edariese proved futile. He did not take phone calls, nor did he reply to a text message seeking his side of the story as of press time.
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