The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Publisher of Niger Delta Mirror Newspaper Online, Comr. Charles Oyinbi Onduku, has petitioned the Nigerian Police Force over an alleged unlawful abduction, brutality, and alleged extortion by members of the Ovwian Anti-Cult Group on Saturday in Udu, Delta State.
In a statement released on Monday through his lawyer, Omes Ogedegbe (Esq.), Onduku called on the Commissioner of Police, Delta State, to investigate the culprits of the act with the aim of bringing justice to the victim.
Briefing his lawyer on the events of that day, Onduku explained that on Saturday, October 4, 2024, himself and a female friend were at his barbershop located on Sakilo Street, off Old Ekete Road, Ovwian, when about four members of the Anti-Cult Vigilante Group stormed the premises.
Onduku, who is also the Vice President of the revered Ijaw Publishers Forum (IPF), said they dragged him and his female visitor—an honorable member of the Bomadi Local Government Council—at gunpoint into a waiting Sienna van at about 8:45 p.m., in a manner that resembled an abduction, without giving any reason for their actions.
During the abduction, Onduku and his female visitor were tortured after being sprayed with tear gas, and they were threatened with death if they refused to cooperate and follow the group to the Ovwian Police Station.
Onduku collapsed after his left eye, which had undergone surgery due to a medical issue, was struck and further irritated by tear gas. Since the incident, he has been unable to sleep and remains on medication due to the severe pain in his eye.
The statement also noted that due to the intimidation and brutality by the members of the Anti-Cult Vigilante Group, Onduku was not allowed to lock up his shop, hence upon his return from the station, the sum of Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N450,000), which had been kept in his shop for his Point of Sale (POS) business, was said to be stolen