How Rivers APC chieftains were killed on Election Day – Cousin

BY Memoye Oghu, Port Harcourt

Chief Ephraim Etete Owoh, Head of Owoh group of houses in Egwe Idake of Asarama in the Andoni Local Government Area, Rivers State has described how gunmen pumped bullets into his two cousins and took their corpses away during the last Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state

In a chat with newsmen in Port Harcourt over the weekend, he said his cousins, Monwan Owoh-Etete and his elder brother, Andrew went home for the election as he was the leader of Ward 9, Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.

“He was in the house in the village briefing party members when about 20 gunmen entered the house. They scattered everywhere and shot dead himself, the elder brother, Andrew, and one other person. He only wanted to vote like everyone else for his preferred candidates in the elections before the incident happened. Owoh-Etete was a politician, a party leader, a good man, father of five and a pastor in the Greater Evangelism Church. Two of his children are still in the university,” he sobbed

“When their assailants shot them, we gathered that they made sure they were dead by pumping more bullets into their bodies. They took their corpses away,” Chief Etete Owoh added

Calling on the security agencies to fish out the killers of his cousins, he expressed fears of voters’ apathy due to insecurity, even as he hoped that the state government and the relevant political parties they belonged to would do the needful to ameliorate the sufferings of their families left behind.

“Except there is adequate security, many people definitely will be afraid to leave their homes to go and vote; there’s no doubt about that. Nobody would want to die because of election,” he stated.

According to him, the late Pastor Owoh Etete who was about to defend his PHD thesis before the attacks was also a former two-terms chairman of the Andoni LGA and also served as an adviser to the state governor, Nyesom Wike, before defecting to the All Progressives Congress last year.

He further said that his late cousin desired to free Andoni people from political oppression. “Owoh-Etete worked to deliver Andoni nation from the hands of a few people who have risen politically and don’t want Andoni people to see the light. As they knew and understood his dreams, they planned his killing in order to oppress the people.”