Victor Ochei Campaign Council has condemned the detention of Mr Sochi Okolo, describing it as unwarranted.
Okolo is a member of the council and the immediate past senior media aide to the Executive Chairman of Aniocha North Local Government Area.
The council described the incident as a political abduction, alleging that a powerful individual had ordered Okolo’s detention over a Facebook page.
It stated that Okolo created the page using his personal email address and phone number before lending it to the chairman’s office to enhance its visibility.
The council said: “When he resigned a few months ago, he handed over every official account and every channel of communication that belonged to the office. He told them, clearly, that the page could not ethically be transferred because it was linked to his personal details, and he asked them to remove the office’s materials. They agreed. They promised to do so within one week. More than a month later, they had done nothing.
“When the working relationship ended, the page reverted to its owner. He was free to use it. When the chairman later contacted him, he explained the personal and technical position while asking for time to review his end.
“That was the last civil exchange. Between 22:00 and 23:00 on Tuesday, policemen stormed his residence without an invitation, letter or prior notice, seized him in a dehumanising manner and took him to the State CID in Asaba.”
The council alleged that its investigations showed that Okolo’s continued detention was being driven by a prominent politician in the state.
It said: “We have seen this pattern before. The Okowa camp and the APC in Delta North do not campaign on a programme. They campaign by fright. Old lies about court rulings. Rented voices. Now a midnight raid on a media aide who left the chairman’s office and joined the opposition.
“The aim is plain: weaken the NDC in Delta North, frighten supporters of Victor Ochei, and teach every aide in Aniocha North that resignation is punishable.
“The police have allowed themselves to be used. No prior invitation. A night raid. A detention prolonged the moment a serving Secretary to the State Government and an APC candidate’s interest entered the room.
“The police have also held Mr Sochi Okolo beyond the legal period within which a person can be detained without being charged to court, having been arrested on Monday night.
“Similarly, every attempt to secure Mr Sochi Okolo’s release on administrative bail has been deliberately frustrated by the police, whose actions appear to have assumed the roles of complainant, prosecutor and court.
“That is complacency. It is a compromise. It is sabotage of an opposition campaign. A force that claims to serve the law cannot be the private night guard of a local government chairman and a senatorial candidate. The APC cannot preach progressive democracy in the morning and run a police snatch squad at night.
“We demand Okolo’s immediate and unconditional release. He has no case to answer over a page he created, lent and properly reclaimed. Anything short of his release confirms that the Issele-Uku Division and the State CID are holding a citizen for politics, not for crime.”
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