Two prominent youth leaders in the state with others were last Wednesday October 21, brutalized and manhandled at the State Headquarters of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Okigwe road Secretariat when they accompanied one of their colleagues in the state from Okigwe zone who was there to pick the nomination form for the House of Assembly election in 2015.
Two of the victims Mr. Precious Nwadike of Orlu Youth Assembly and Martin Opara of Owerri Zonal Youth Platform said that they were among numerous other Imo youths who in a show of solidarity had gone to the Party Secretariat where one of them Dr. Harold Wilson Onumo, President of Okigwe Youth Assembly had gone to pick his forms for the Ihitte/Uboma House of Assembly seat but were not allowed to go in except the aspirant, his campaign Director and Personal Assistant hence the youth stayed waiting outside.
It was while the youths that gathered outside heard shouting orders for the arrest and detention of one of the youths and later saw one of their colleagues Young Frank Nwoku, a law student of the Imo State University was being rough handled by law enforcement agents and dragged along that they intervened and wanted to know his offence thereby objecting to his being sent out for detention.
The youth leaders inquired to know his offence but when they could not hear anything from those who held the youngman, they resisted his being dragged out like a common criminal. According to the victims, it was at this point that the State Secretary of PDP Sir George Egu rushed down from his office to know those raising the objection and according to eye witnesses took on to personally assault one of the formost youth leaders. He further ordered the security agents to deal severally with the youth leaders an action that attracted the attention of other youths present and perhaps for fear of being lynched by now irate youths he left the scene and not after Mr. Nwadike had been hit on the left thigh with a gun butt.
When contacted, the victims and other youth leaders expressed shock at the incident and disclosed that they were consulting with their attorneys but expressed a greater disappointment that a political leader in person of Sir George Egu could unleash such mayhem on the youths as if he was a tout. “Abinitio, the youths were always described as being violent but today, you can see our elders (politicians) being more violent than even the agboro boys. That is sad! Not good for our democracy. We should not be forced to take laws into our hands at all since we are law abiding citizens doing our legitimate businesses. Comrade Nwadike concluded.
They claimed that if the State Chairman had been on seat perhaps that the situation could not have been so inflamed but stated that as at the time of this report they were meeting and would come out with their legal line of action.
Meanwhile the condition of the arrested student leader is not confirmed.
