Posted by Samuel on Thu 10th Oct, 2024 - tori.ng
The young man said in the video, "Governor Sheriff, former Governor Okowa, you have failed us. Look at the road, it's like a pool."
The human rights advocacy group Take It Back Movement (TIB) has criticized the Delta State Government, led by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, over the arrest of a man filmed bathing on a flooded road to draw attention to the poor condition of Shell Road in Sapele.
The had had compared the road to a "swimming pool" due to frequent flooding.
It had earlier been reported that the young man identified as Uge Elo Kenneth, in the viral video, was seen taking a "bath" in the middle of the dilapidated road and calling out the former governor of the state, Ifeanyi Okowa and the incumbent governor Sheriff Oborevwori as well as the Sapele Local Government Area chairman over their failure to fix the road.
The young man said in the video, "Governor Sheriff, former Governor Okowa, you have failed us. Look at the road, it's like a pool."
Kenneth's actions were intended to draw the attention of the state government to the lack of proper infrastructure in the area, but instead of addressing the road issue, the Delta State government allegedly sent undercover security agents to apprehend him, it was learnt.
Despite Kenneth's creative protest, no immediate steps have been taken to fix the road.
Rather, the state government arrested him, and justified his arrest, an action that sparked criticism from the public, with many questioning the government's focus on silencing the individual rather than addressing the underlying problem of poor infrastructure.
Reacting to Kenneth’s arrest, the Delta State Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Ochuko Famili, denounced his harassment for exposing the poor state of roads in Sapele.
Famili said, “We strongly condemn the arrest of Mr Uge Kenneth who was taken into custody by the police 4 days ago for rightly exposing the depilated state of roads in his community shell road Sapele, Delta state.”
Famili criticised the state government’s actions, describing it as oppression rather than service, and asked Governor Oborevwori and the Commissioner of Police to release Kenneth and address the issues he raised.
The TIB coordinator further emphasised the need for the government to focus on improving road conditions instead of intimidating citizens who speak out against neglect
He said, “The purpose of government is to serve not to oppress its citizens and the arrest of Mr Kenneth is nothing short of intimidation by certain state leaders who were supposed to attend to the issues he lamented about.
“We call on the Delta state governor Sheriff and the commissioner of police to release the young man in good faith and turn attention to issues he rightly raised.”