Hon. Eugene Chita Epelle, the Chairman of Ahoada West Local Government Area in Rivers State, has denied allegations that he supervised the assault of a woman identified as Ninehe, insisting that he never supported any act of violence and even cautioned his younger brother against pushing her during the confrontation.
According to an interview with Channels Television, the dispute emerged after the woman accused Hon Epelle of visiting her residence with his younger brother, Monday Chita Epelle, and allegedly ordering that she be beaten for making a social media post about a secondary school in a bad condition in the Oduoku community.
The woman alleged that during the confrontation, the chairman instructed his brother to discipline her. She said Monday Epelle forced his way through her gate, entered the compound, and physically attacked her.
She further claimed that neighbors in the community intervened and prevented the situation from escalating, alleging that she was strangled and sustained neck injuries. She also stated that a passerby identified as Godstime Kakoro intervened by pulling away a shovel that she said was about to be used to strike her.
However, Hon. Epelle rejected the allegations, explaining that he never went to the house with thugs but was simply passing by with a few associates, including his driver and younger brother. He said he stopped after the woman’s mother waved at him because they had known each other since childhood.
The chairman said he only asked the woman’s mother to advise her to remove the social media post because she was his staff member and should have informed him before publishing it. He explained that the situation escalated when the woman came out of the house shouting and allegedly insulting him.
Epelle admitted that his younger brother reacted angrily and pushed the woman after she repeatedly waved her hands close to his face but stressed that he did not support the action.
In his words, “Then my younger brother now told her, do you know you are insulting the local government chairman? Executive chairman. She now said, whose type of executive chairman is that? That was the anger of my younger brother. Then he now pushed her.”
“She was always waving her hands close to my face. That’s all to this matter. In the process, I didn’t support my younger brother pushing her because I’m not that violent type. I don’t support him pushing her. I even cautioned him not to try that next time.”See_More…