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A young woman, identified as Winnie Mila, has accused the Chairman of Ahoada West Local Government Area in Rivers State, Eugene Epelle, of allegedly organising thugs to assault her following a social media post about a secondary school in her community.
On March 1, Winnie had posted photos and videos highlighting the dilapidated state of the school in Oduoku Community, appealing for intervention to improve facilities.
In the video, she said, “So as we all know, the future of this country is in the hands of these youths. And if they don’t have a solid background in education, then our future will be jeopardised.
“So we are calling on the chairman, Honourable Eugene Chita Epelle, the deputy chairman of Ahoada West, to come to the rescue of these children. They need school chairs. They need boards.
“They need windows. They need general renovations. The school doesn’t have electricity. They don’t even have teachers. Before now, they had over 1,000 students in the school, but right now, they cannot even boast of 100.”
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday in Port Harcourt, Winnie alleged that hours after the video went viral, the chairman allegedly led a group of thugs to her residence and supervised the assault.
She said the incident occurred on Sunday at about 12 noon after church service, when the council chairman reportedly visited her home and confronted her mother. Winnie claimed that the chairman accused her of attempting to damage his image online through the post, which allegedly drew calls from individuals criticising his office.
According to Winnie, the chairman then instructed his brother, Mon Dichita Epele, to assault her.
“The Chairman, Honourable Eugene Tita Epele, who is the Executive Chairman of Ahoada West, came to my house on Sunday around 12 noon after service. He confronted my mother, telling her that I wanted to damage his image online because I made a post about the secondary school in Ujuk.
“He said that video made him receive calls from several persons who insulted his office, and for that, he instructed his brother, Mon Dichita Epele, to beat me and teach me a lesson,” she alleged.
Winnie also claimed that Mon Dichita forced his way into the compound and attacked her.
“Mon Dichita pushed my gate, came into my compound and started beating me. If not for the intervention of my neighbours in the community, he would have succeeded in killing me, like he said,” she stated.
She added that she was strangled during the assault and sustained neck injuries.
“He strangled my neck. I still have neck injuries up to now. A passer-by, Gustav Kakoro, can also be interviewed. He was the one who dragged the shovel that Mon Dichita wanted to use on my head. Gustav Kakoro dragged the shovel from him to stop him from hitting me,” she said.
Winnie further alleged that the chairman was present throughout the incident.
“He supervised my beating. He was there with his security personnel, and nothing was done,” she added.
Reacting to the allegation in an interview with reporters, the council chairman denied assaulting Winnie, claiming she is his staff and should have obtained his permission before posting online.
Epelle explained, “I’m not against her post, but the manner in which she posted it is wrong because she’s my staff. She ought to take orders from me before she posts anything. I didn’t know who gave her the order to post that online.”
The chairman recounted that the situation escalated when he visited his residence and spoke with Winnie’s mother.
“The first time, she was not there when I was talking with the mother. When she came out, she said, ‘Step down, which post?’ I became surprised at the way she was shouting and using her voice,” he said.
He added that the confrontation escalated when his younger brother intervened physically.
“Then my younger brother told her, ‘Do you know you’re insulting the local government chairman, executive chairman?’ She replied, ‘Whose type of executive chairman is that?’ That was the anger of my younger brother. He now pushed her because she was waving her hands close to my face.”
Epelle denied participating in any physical assault, stressing that any injury sustained by Winnie was accidental.
“I didn’t support my younger brother pushing her because I’m not that type of person. I even cautioned him not to try that next time. But in the process of pushing her, her teeth bit her lips, and she sustained a little injury. That’s how the blood came,” he said.
He concluded by refuting claims that anyone deliberately beat her, emphasising that the confrontation was unintentional.
Epelle therefore urged the public to understand that the dispute arose from internal staff discipline rather than any malicious intent
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