Fear Grips Edo Residents Over Butchers’ Power Tussle

• Association National President seeks police, government intervention

The crisis in the Edo State Practicing Butchers Association (ESPBA) yesterday, degenerated to shooting between rival factions of the association with the President of National Butchers Association, Chief Osamede Adun urging the state Commissioner of Police and the government to intervene before things get out of hand.

With accusations and counter-accusations renting the air in Benin, Adun is afraid that without urgent intervention and the rival parties brought to the negotiation table, the power tussle may likely snowball into a major crisis that would affect innocent residents of the state.

However, the rival groups are accusing each other of being sponsored by politicians with accusing fingers pointed at officials of the state government, including Governor Godwin Obaseki, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer in the last Edo governorship election, immediate past APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Adun.

Narrating how the incident occurred, Mr. Sunny Omokaro, a private abattoir operator who claimed to be a member of Edo State Vigilante, said while returning from work, he saw some young men sent by Akhere Odigie, Chairman of the Practicing Butchers Association alleged to be in the good books of the government to invade his abattoir amid shooting into the air.

Omokaro said they were all invited to the New Benin Police Station and that while the others were released, he was still being held by the police.

But reacting to the development, Adun, who decried his name being dragged into the crisis expressed shock over the development, said; “For the past five to six years, I have not been part of them and whether they have such a union in Benin here, we don’t know because I am the National President of the National Butchers Union of Nigeria and we have been in existence for over 50 years.

“I have stayed clear of union matters concerning Edo State. I have called the Commissioner of Police to invite all of us, whether they even know me by my face. I have slaughterhouses here in Benin, they said we should not kill cows and I told my people to comply.

“I told my people to ensure compliance since they say they are now Practicing Butchers which our union doesn’t know.

“They mentioned some names of politicians like the governor, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole but I have resigned from politics for over a year now, I don’t play politics again no politician comes to my house except a businessman like me, I have stayed out of politics. They know what they are fighting over.” – Vanguard News