Not fewer than three members of the ruling All Progressive Congress(APC) in Benue State, were reportedly killed and several others sustained various degrees of injuries following a fracas that erupted during the party’s Senatorial Caucus meeting, held in Otukpo, on Friday.
Otukpo is the headquarters of Benue south senatorial district.
According to Tribune Online source, a fight broke out between boys believed to be loyal to the state chairman of the party, Comrade Abbah Yaro and one of the members of the house of representative eyeing the senatorial seat currently been occupied by David Mark.
Some party faithful accused the chairman of being behind the killings.
One of the members said, “he boasted that he must be returned to office whether party members like it or not, that if it means using force, he will use it to achieve his ambition.”
But the state chairman of the party, Comrade Abbah Yaro said that the crisis did not emanate from the zonal meeting, saying the meeting went peacefully.
He alleged the House of Reps member of causing the problem in the party and that some people do not want him to return to the office of the state party chairman even after other people from other zones have accepted his second term bid.
“Some people in my senatorial zone do not want me back as the state chairman of the party even when the entire zonal leadership of the party in the state had endorsed me for a second term.
“People like a member of the house of representative, who just decamped from PDP to APC is now fighting me and causing this problem of the fight among the members.
“The member who had declared at the floor of the House of Representatives in Abuja that he wants to vie for Benue South senatorial seat and has refused to declare his intention at home here because he is not popular is going about with boys to cause chaos in the party.”
“However, from what I gathered, the fight that led to the death of these people, started on the street of Otukpo, a day before the zonal meeting was held and l was not there,” Yaro stressed.
Supporting the Chairman statement, the APC state director of Publicity, Apeh Peter, stated that there was no fracas, not to talk of killing during the caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Benue South held at Double K Otukpo last Friday contrary to speculations that the incumbent state chairman, Abba Yaro brought in thugs to manhandle his political opponents.
Apeh Peter who spoke to our correspondent on phone, however, claimed that it was a senatorial aspirant from the zone who is antagonizing the chairman who had already been endorsed for another term of office that may be responsible for the killing of about three people.
“I heard of the killings. They did not happen at the venue of the meeting or the zonal party secretariat. The thing was said to have started from Thursday. I heard that boys, rival cult boys were moving from street to street killing people. It was not like it happened at the venue of our meeting.
“I also heard rumours that it was the state chairman that instigated it. How can somebody that has been endorsed instigate thugs? Abba Yaro is such a man that will not stoop low to indulge in such activity. If there was anything of such, it might have been caused by the senatorial aspirant.
Some members said that the case was reported at area command, Otukpo but a police officer who pleaded anonymous confirmed this but said: “the case was reported here but I can not speak on the issue.”
