The Delta State Police Area Command in Ozoro has arraigned the Chairman of Emevor Community in the state, Lucky Okeremu, alongside two other community leaders, for public flogging and assault of a resident, Ogaga Godspower Okedi, over critical comments he made online.
The defendants, 48-year-old Okeremu, 46-year-old Okiemute Oyibo, and 45-year-old Karo Akamakusi, were arraigned before the Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Ozoro, on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, assault occasioning harm, conduct likely to cause a breach of public peace, and criminal intimidation.
According to the charge sheet marked MA/75/2026, filed by the Commissioner of Police through the Directorate of Legal Services, Area Command Headquarters, Ozoro, the three defendants allegedly acted in concert with others who are currently at large.
The police told the court that the accused persons, on or before July 5, 2026, at Emevor Community in Isoko North Local Government Area, conspired to commit the offence of assault occasioning harm, contrary to Section 516 of the Criminal Code, Cap C.21, Volume 1, Laws of Delta State, 2006.
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In the second count, prosecutors accused the defendants of severely assaulting Godspower by flogging him all over his body at Emiluck Hotel & Suite, Emevor, inflicting injuries on him in an offence punishable under Section 355 of the Criminal Code.
The third count accused the defendants of conducting themselves in a manner likely to cause a breach of public peace by unlawfully assaulting the victim, contrary to Section 249(e) of the Criminal Code.
They were also accused in the fourth count of threatening the life of Godspower with the intent to intimidate or annoy him, an offence punishable under Section 86 of the Criminal Code.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the police arrested the three defendants over the public assault and humiliation of Godspower.
Godspower’s public flogging, assault, and humiliation sparked outrage after videos circulated on social media showing him being beaten, forced to lie face down, and repeatedly whipped with sticks under the supervision of the community chairman.
Initial reports suggested the assault was linked to Facebook posts in which Okedi criticised abandoned some Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) road projects in Emevor and questioned the role of a Port Harcourt-based indigene said to have facilitated the projects.
However, subsequent findings by SaharaReporters indicated that the immediate trigger was comments Okedi made in the community WhatsApp group over an alleged compensation arrangement for women whose farmlands were reportedly destroyed by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
According to community sources, Okedi alleged that the community chairman had invited affected women to register at the civic centre for compensation payments allegedly received from the herders.
He reportedly criticised the move, arguing that accepting such compensation could embolden the herders to continue destroying farms and worsen insecurity in the community.
Okeremu’s camp, however, denied the allegation, insisting that the meeting with leaders of the Arewa community in Ughelli North Local Government Area was aimed solely at securing a commitment that herdsmen would no longer enter Emevor to graze.
According to the chairman’s camp, several respected members of the community urged Okedi to tender an unreserved apology over the allegations, but he declined.
SaharaReporters learnt that after making the comments, Okedi was invited to appear before the community leadership. Shortly after honouring the invitation, he was allegedly attacked by members of the executive.
The incident sparked widespread condemnation, with many Nigerians and civil society advocates demanding the immediate arrest and prosecution of those involved while questioning the legality of community leaders subjecting residents to physical punishment over opinions expressed on social media.
The President of the Isoko National Youth Assembly Worldwide (INYA), Eniwake Orogun, condemned the assault, saying, “It stands condemned. No one has the right to treat another in that manner.”
Similarly, the President-General of Emevor Community, Emmanuel Erezih, popularly known as Okpomo, distanced the community from the assault.
“Let me state unequivocally, no online post, regardless of its content, justifies the kind of treatment witnessed in those videos. Such actions are unacceptable and have no place in our community,” he said.
He further condemned the actions of the community chairman and others allegedly involved, stressing that no one has the right to intimidate, humiliate or take the law into their own hands.
Before the arraignment, a senior police officer at the Delta State Police Area Command, Ozoro, had confirmed to SaharaReporters that Okeremu, the community vigilante chairman and the chairman of the community task force had been arrested, while other suspects remained at large after failing to honour police invitations.
The officer had also disclosed that the suspects would be arraigned upon the conclusion of police investigations, a process that has now culminated in the filing of charges before the Ozoro Chief Magistrate Court.
(SaharaReporters)
