A 40-year-old woman in Ebonyi State, Blessing Ngwuta, has alleged that she lost her four-month pregnancy after suspected political thugs stormed her family home in Ezza South Local Government Area and brutally assaulted her during an attack that also left several people injured and property destroyed.
The victim, who spoke to SaharaReporters on Sunday in an interview, said the assailants invaded their residence on Thursday while she was preparing food for political visitors.
Her husband is Christopher Ngwuta, a 73-year-old chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), at Amaezekwe community in the state.
According to her, the attackers, armed with guns, machetes, swords, sticks, and stones, stormed the compound, assaulted its occupants, vandalized vehicles, and made away with valuables.
“They came with guns, machetes, swords, sticks and stones. They beat people, destroyed vehicles, tricycles and other property, and stole cash, mobile phones and motorcycles,” she told SaharaReporters.
Ngwuta said the violence escalated after one of the attackers allegedly discovered that she was in the kitchen.
“One of them said, ‘The man’s wife is in the kitchen; she is at the back of this building,’” she said.
“Immediately one of them said this, they came to where I was cooking and descended on me and other women who were helping me to prepare food for my husband’s visitors.
“One of them hit me from behind and I fell and hit my stomach on the ground.”
“When I tried to get up, another one pointed a gun at my head and said they would use me as an example for others to learn,” she recounted.
The woman alleged that she began bleeding after the attack and was rushed to hospital by her husband.
“Because of the attack, I lost my four-month pregnancy, and I have just been discharged from the hospital today (Sunday),” she said.
She insisted she had no involvement in partisan politics and questioned why she became a target.
“I am not a politician. I don’t know anything about politics, and I don’t belong to any political party. I don’t know my offence,” she said, calling on security agencies to identify, arrest and prosecute those responsible.
Her husband, Christopher Ngwuta, described the attack as politically motivated and said it would not force him to abandon the PDP or withdraw his support for the party’s 2027 governorship candidate, Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii.
The elderly politician said he recognised some of the attackers and expressed shock that people he regarded as his own could allegedly participate in the assault.
“It is surprising to me that ‘my children’ would invade my home, attack my wife and destroy property belonging to me and my visitors,” he said.
“I am an elder statesman. I am an old man and a peaceful person, and I have the constitutional right to belong to any political party of my choice. Nobody can stop me from belonging to the party I have chosen.”
Ngwuta questioned why politicians belonging to different political parties were able to campaign freely in other parts of Ebonyi State without similar attacks.
“Why Ezza clan? Why Ezza South?” he asked.
He maintained that his decision to support the PDP is based on what he described as the political marginalisation of the Ezza people under the current administration.
“I am a general in this business, and Ezzas are not in the agenda of this present government,” he claimed.
The incident occurred barely a week after suspected political thugs attacked PDP members and journalists during a political event in the same Ezza South Local Government Area.
SaharaReporters previously reported that on August 1, supporters of the PDP had gathered at Ikwuator Idembia for the defection of former All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Ifeanyi Nworie, to the opposition party.
The event was reportedly disrupted by suspected thugs, forcing organisers to relocate to Nworie’s residence.
The attackers allegedly followed them to the new venue and assaulted several participants.
Journalists covering the event also came under attack.
Members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ebonyi State Council, alleged that the assailants attempted to set their branded operational vehicles ablaze.
Following the incidents, the PDP accused the ruling APC of orchestrating a campaign of intimidation against opposition members and supporters in the state.
The Chairman of the PDP in Ebonyi State, Chukwuma Igwe, said the party would not be intimidated by violence.
“We state unequivocally that the PDP in Ebonyi State will not be intimidated by undemocratic forces, irrespective of who may be behind them,” Igwe said.
He urged security agencies to investigate the attacks and protect citizens’ constitutional rights to political participation and freedom of association.
The Ebonyi State chapter of the APC denied any involvement in the attacks.
The party’s chairman, Stanley Okoro Emegha, dismissed the allegations and insisted that Governor Francis Nwifuru does not condone political violence.
“There is no time the APC will have a hand in violence because you know very well that if you get yourself involved in such acts, the governor will abandon you,” Emegha said.
He also urged APC supporters to avoid violence, noting that political rivals could become allies in the future.
As of the time of filing this report, the Ebonyi State Police Command had not announced any arrests or identified those responsible for the attack.
SaharaReporters’ efforts to obtain the command’s reaction were unsuccessful, as its Police Public Relations Officer, SP Joshua Ukandu, neither answered calls nor responded to a text message seeking comment.
The claim that Mrs Ngwuta lost her pregnancy as a result of the alleged assault is based on her account and has not been independently verified by SaharaReporters.
(SaharaReporters)