There was confusion in Enugu on Wednesday over reports that
armed thugs allegedly invaded the country home of Senator Ayogu Eze on Tuesday
evening.
Eze, the senator representing Enugu North, won the primary
of the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party in Enugu State.
The senator had insisted that he was the authentic PDP
governorship candidate, after winning a parallel primary election, but an Abuja
Federal High Court on Monday ruled that a member of the House of
Representatives, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, was the party’s standard-bearer.
Reports emerged on Wednesday that the thugs fired several
gunshots into the air when they stormed Eze’s house at Enugu-Ezike in
Igboeze-North Local Government Area.
An eyewitness – the security man at the house, who
identified himself as Hassan Hamuo – stated that the incident occurred at about
5.20 pm on Tuesday.
Hamuo said he was at the gate when two vehicles with about
10 boys suddenly stopped at the house.
The boys immediately started shooting into the air, while
dancing in front of the house, according to his account.
According to him, as they shot into the air, the thugs
shouted that since the senator had failed in court, he has become a dead man.
He said the hoodlums abandoned their vehicles and took to
their heels when neighbours and other villagers, who were attracted by the
noise, alerted the police.
Nobody was injured in the incident, according to Hamuo’s
account.
Family sources alleged that the thugs were those who were
celebrating Ugwuanyi’s victory in the legal dispute over the PDP governorship
ticket.
They noted that if not for the quick intervention of the
police and youths of the village, the thugs would have destroyed the senator’s
house.
Following the incident, the youths reportedly kept a vigil
at the house to prevent the return of the hoodlums.
The senator’s aides said he would soon make an official
statement on the matter.