Don Pedro Obaseki, a cousin of former Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has recounted how he was allegedly abducted, beaten and stripped naked by suspected assailants in Benin City, Edo State.
Obaseki made the claims in a video shared by Africa Independent Television on Sunday, following reports that suspected thugs had stripped him naked and taken him to the Oba of Benin’s Palace.
According to him, the incident occurred at about 11:30am on Sunday while he was playing football with members of the Uwa All Stars at Uwa Primary School in Benin.
He alleged that armed men suddenly stormed the football field, abducted him and dragged him through several streets in the city, claiming they were acting on the orders of the Oba of Benin’s Palace.
He said, “I was physically abducted, in short, physically kidnapped, some of them holding guns… and they hauled me through the streets of Benin under the guise that they’ve been sent to come and abduct me by the palace of the Oba of Benin.
“I begged them to show me some form of ID, of course not. I was dragged, beaten severely, manhandled and dragged through Igbisawan Street up to Akpapava, which is the main thoroughfare in Benin, and up to Ring Road, where I was stripped naked and taken into the palace of the Oba of Benin and where I was meant to kneel publicly.
“I’ve never been so humiliated because I am who I am because of my nativity, my Beninness.”
He further disclosed that he was later taken to a police station along Oba Market Road, where the Commissioner of Police reportedly intervened and ordered his release.
Obaseki said he was traumatised by the incident and claimed he was told that his offence was making a public statement in London in which he said, “May Edo people live long and prosper,” instead of referencing the Oba of Benin.
“I hear that my sin was that I went to London and in a public statement I said May Edo people live long and prosper, that I should have said May the Oba live long and prosper, that my saying may Edo people live long and prosper is a cardinal sin in Benin… for me who has elevated the culture of the Benin race in my 35 to 40 years as the pioneer of the present Nollywood,” he stated.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Oba of Benin’s Palace nor the Edo State Police Command had issued an official statement on the incident.