The Delta State Police Area Command in Ozoro has arraigned the Chairman of Emevor Community in Isoko North Local Government Area, Lucky Okeremu, and two other community leaders over the alleged public flogging and assault of a resident, Ogaga Godspower Okedi.
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The defendants, Okeremu, 48; Okiemute Oyibo, 46; and Karo Akamakusi, 45, were arraigned before the Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Ozoro on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, assault occasioning harm, conduct likely to cause breach of public peace and criminal intimidation.
According to the charge sheet marked MA/75/2026, filed by the Commissioner of Police through the Directorate of Legal Services, Area Command Headquarters, Ozoro, the defendants allegedly acted in concert with others said to be at large.
The police alleged that the defendants, on or before July 5, 2026, at Emevor Community, conspired to commit the offence of assault occasioning harm, contrary to Section 516 of the Criminal Code, Cap C.21, Volume 1, Laws of Delta State, 2006.
In the second count, the defendants were accused of severely assaulting Godspower by flogging him all over his body at Emiluck Hotel & Suite, Emevor, thereby inflicting injuries on him.
The alleged offence is said to be punishable under Section 355 of the Criminal Code.
The third count accused the defendants of conducting themselves in a manner likely to cause a breach of public peace by unlawfully assaulting the victim, contrary to Section 249(e) of the Criminal Code.
They were also accused in the fourth count of threatening Godspower’s life with intent to intimidate or annoy him, an offence punishable under Section 86 of the Criminal Code.
The arraignment followed public outrage over viral videos showing Godspower being beaten, forced to lie face down and repeatedly flogged with sticks.
Reports had earlier linked the assault to online comments made by Godspower concerning abandoned Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, road projects in Emevor and the role of an indigene said to have facilitated the projects. Amnesty International also condemned the public flogging, describing it as a grave violation of human rights and an attack on freedom of expression.
However, subsequent reports indicated that the immediate trigger may have been comments Godspower allegedly made in a community WhatsApp group over a reported compensation arrangement for women whose farmlands were allegedly destroyed by suspected herdsmen.
According to community sources cited in the reports, Godspower allegedly criticised the arrangement, warning that accepting compensation from herders could embolden further destruction of farms and worsen insecurity in the community.
Okeremu’s camp, however, denied wrongdoing in relation to the alleged compensation arrangement, insisting that the meeting with leaders of the Arewa community in Ughelli North Local Government Area was aimed at securing a commitment that herdsmen would no longer enter Emevor to graze.
The chairman’s camp also claimed that respected members of the community had urged Godspower to tender an unreserved apology over his allegations, but he allegedly refused.
Godspower was said to have been invited to appear before the community leadership before he was allegedly attacked by members of the executive.
The incident drew widespread condemnation from Nigerians, civil society advocates and community leaders, many of whom questioned the legality of community leaders subjecting a resident to physical punishment over opinions expressed online.
The President of the Isoko National Youth Assembly Worldwide, Eniwake Orogun, condemned the assault, saying no one had the right to treat another person in such a manner.
“It stands condemned. No one has the right to treat another in that manner,” he said.
The President-General of Emevor Community, Emmanuel Erezih, popularly known as Okpomo, also distanced the community from the assault.
“Let me state unequivocally, no online post, regardless of its content, justifies the kind of treatment witnessed in those videos. Such actions are unacceptable and have no place in our community,” he said.
He further condemned the actions of the community chairman and others allegedly involved, stressing that no one has the right to intimidate, humiliate or take the law into their own hands.
Before the arraignment, a senior police officer at the Delta State Police Area Command, Ozoro, had confirmed the arrest of Okeremu, the community vigilante chairman and the chairman of the community task force, while other suspects were said to be at large after allegedly failing to honour police invitations.
The police subsequently filed charges against the defendants before the Ozoro Chief Magistrate Court.
The defendants have not been convicted of the allegations.
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Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACiarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
