The Delta State Police Command says it has arrested and interrogated the town crier in the viral video in which residents of Orogun community in Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state were threatened to vote for a particular candidate in the coming March 18 governorship election.
Recall that in the video which was widely circulated on various social media platforms the town crier spoke in the Urhobo dialect that was transcribed into the English Language with the threat to Orogun residents to comply with the message from “an unnamed retired senior Police officer” to vote for the Delta State All Progressives Congress, APC, gubernatorial candidate or be prepared to face the consequences.
Parts of the English transcription of the town crier’s message were that any indigene of Orogun community who failed to vote for the APC in the governorship election will be “taken to the Police Area Command, beaten to death by the Police and buried by the government” and “whosoever says he will not vote for Omo-Agege should stay at home”.
In a statement on Saturday evening, the spokesperson for the Delta State Police Command, DSP Bright Edafe, said following a discreet investigation into the matter the town crier in the viral video “was subsequently arrested for interrogation. He admitted that he was merely acting on his own and that no serving or retired senior police officer gave him such directive. He, however, denied knowledge or involvement in making the latest version of the clip with English transcription as not being in line with his earlier message.
“Emerging facts revealed that some mischievous elements, who were out to cause tension and discontent in the state, edited and magnified the message of the Town Crier, which he had since retracted, beyond his original intention, added English transcription and put same in the social media, to serve their selfish purpose. This is not just malicious but criminal. The Command is gradually closing in on characters behind the said video clip, with a view to bringing them before the law.”
The State Commissioner of Police CP Ari Muhammed Ali in the statement reminded residents of Delta State that officers and men of the Command remain apolitical and committed to the success of the electoral process and will not be used by any individual or group to subvert the popular wish of the people stressing that no citizen will be arrested, harassed or assaulted for exercising his/her franchise.
The police boss urged residents of the State, particularly indigenes of the Orogun community, to come out en-masse and exercise their franchise on Election Day without fear, as modalities have been put in place to ensure that the election on Saturday, March 18, 2023, is hitch-free.
The following dedicated phone lines are available to the public to reach the command for quick response to any complaint or distress during the election. CONTROL ROOM NUMBERS: 08036684974, 08125958005, 09053872287
