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An old video clip shows the Secretary of National Organization of the Labor Party (LP), Clement Ojukwu, admitting to being in communication with the kidnappers of the missing 2021 Anambra State LP gubernatorial candidate, Obiora Agbasimalo.
Kidnapping
Agbasimalo was abducted on September 18, 2021, less than a month before the Anambra State gubernatorial election, which was held on November 6, 2021.
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The Executive Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo. [PHOTO CREDIT: Facebook page of Mr Soludo]
Charles Soludo, a renowned banker and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, would later win the election.
Soludo, the incumbent Grand Alliance of All Progressives candidate, was sworn in as governor on March 17, 2022.
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The LP candidate was kidnapped in Lilu, a community in Ihiala local government area of the southeastern state, while on a campaign tour to Azhia, another community in the council area.
Mr Agbasimalo campaign poster in Anambra State
The former banker was kidnapped along with one of the police officers assigned to his convoy.
Two suspects are currently standing trial at a state High Court in Nnewi, Anambra State, for the kidnapping of the LP candidate.
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‘We spoke to his kidnappers’
Eucharia Agbasimalo, the wife of the kidnapped LP candidate, told PREMIUM TIMES that she was baffled when Ojukwu, the LP national organizing secretary, claimed at a press conference that Agbasimalo’s kidnappers usually allowed party officials to speak to him. husband. .
“Since his kidnapping, he (Agbasimalo) has not appeared anywhere and his kidnappers have always spoken to us to assure us that he is alive and we believe that he will be out soon,” Ojukwu said at the conference, as quoted as 11 days before the elections.
“We always discuss with them (the kidnappers) to make sure that our candidate is alive, and they (the kidnappers) let us talk to him (Agbasimalo),” the national organization secretary added.
He would boast that Agbasimalo could still win elections even in captivity, mentioning several candidates who had won elections while in prison in Nigeria in the past.
the negation
When contacted by a PREMIUM TIMES reporter on September 26, 2023, Ojukwu denied claiming to be in communication with the kidnappers of the LP candidate.
“It’s not me you’re talking about. I have never made any statement that he spoke with his kidnappers. I never said that anywhere,” Ojukwu said, and suddenly disconnected the call.
What the video clip showed
In the old video, Mr Ojukwu, who was also the chairman of the LP candidate’s campaign council, is heard confirming that he was in communication with the kidnappers.
“Since his kidnapping, we have only spoken to him (Agbasimalo) perhaps so that his kidnappers can assure us that he is alive,” he said.
The video clip was uploaded to a YouTube channel on October 29, 2021.
It is currently unclear whether police had questioned Mr Ojukwu about the incident.
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