Ex-governor’s house razed

The Gboko residence of former Benue Governor, the late Aper Aku, has been reportedly set ablaze.

There were no casualties, as Miss Deborah Aku, daughter of the ex-governor, said police rescued six of them from the building shortly before people believed to be hoodlums allegedly set the house on fire.

Persecondnews recalls that Aku served as governor of Benue from 1979 to 1983 on behalf of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

The state command’s spokesman, DSP Sewuese Anene, confirmed the house’s burning on Tuesday in Makurdi.

Anene, who declined to comment further on the incident, said that investigations were ongoing to uncover those behind the crime.

Commenting on the incident, Deborah said the entire house, including properties worth millions, were burnt down.

She said trouble began last month when one man came to the house with a cutlass and threatened to deal with them if any of his goats died again.

According to her, the man claimed that he was told that his goat died after drinking water from the Akus’ residence.

“My mum was not around. When she returned, we informed her of what happened, and she reported the matter to the police. When the police first came, he resisted arrest but was later arrested a few days later.

“When he was arrested, his father mobilised his people, numbering over 50, to our house, accusing us of kidnapping his son.

“While they were in our house, they destroyed a few things. When the police arrived, they arrested his father, and later the matter was charged to court.”

She said the judge, who granted them bail on April 2, adjourned the case to July 1 and directed that they settle out of court.

”They promised to bring their lawyer to the settlement meeting, only for us to be attacked again,” she said.

According to her, the house was attacked between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Monday, adding that all six occupants were trapped inside the house.

“Over 30 of them besieged out home. When we noticed that their visit was not friendly, we locked all the doors and called the police.

“Before the police arrived, they started destroying the house, killed our dog, broke into the pig pen, and took all the pigs. They also destroyed our mother’s car.

“The police arrived and were able to rescue us. We left with the police with only what we were putting on. While we were on our way with the police, they set the house ablaze with everything inside.

“The police came in two trucks, but the boys were many and even attacked them too.

“On Monday, when the incident occurred, the police were only able to rescue us from the house before it was burned down. If not for them, we would have probably been burned inside the house. We were six inside the house.

“We are waiting for the police to carry out their investigations. We have also reported the matter to all relevant authorities, including the governor and Speaker of the Benue House of Assembly, because this is his constituency,” Deborah said.