A young woman, Winnie Mila, has accused the Chairman of Ahoada West Local Government Area in Rivers State, Eugene Epelle, of allegedly orchestrating an attack on her after she posted a video on social media exposing the poor condition of a secondary school in her community.
Winnie had shared photos and videos on March 1 showing the dilapidated state of the school in Oduoku Community. In the post, she appealed to authorities to urgently intervene and improve the learning conditions for students.
In the video, she stressed the importance of education in shaping the nation’s future and highlighted the challenges faced by the school, including a lack of chairs, boards, electricity, windows, and adequate teachers.
She also noted that the school, which once had over 1,000 students, now reportedly has fewer than 100 due to the poor learning environment.
Speaking during a press conference in Port Harcourt on Thursday, Winnie alleged that shortly after the video gained attention online, the council chairman came to her residence with some individuals and supervised an attack on her.
According to her, the incident happened on Sunday around noon after church service when the chairman arrived at her house and confronted her mother over the video she had posted.
She claimed that the chairman accused her of attempting to damage his reputation online, saying the video had led to calls from people criticising his office.
Winnie alleged that the chairman then directed his younger brother, Mon Dichita Epelle, to assault her.
“The chairman came to my house after church service and complained to my mother that I wanted to tarnish his image because of the video I posted about the school,” she said. “He said people had been calling to insult his office because of that video, and he told his brother to beat me and teach me a lesson.”
She further claimed that the chairman’s brother forced his way into the compound and began attacking her.
“Mon Dichita pushed open the gate and entered the compound. He started beating me. If not for the intervention of neighbours, he might have killed me as he threatened,” she said.
Winnie also alleged that during the attack she was strangled and suffered injuries to her neck.
She added that a passer-by, identified as Gustav Kakoro, intervened and prevented further harm when he allegedly seized a shovel that was about to be used against her.
According to her, the council chairman was present throughout the incident with his security personnel but did nothing to stop the assault.
“He was there watching everything. He supervised the beating and no one stopped it,” she claimed.
However, the Ahoada West council chairman denied the allegation, insisting that he did not assault Winnie.
Speaking with reporters, Epelle said Winnie works under him and should have sought permission before making the post online.
“I’m not against the content of the post, but the way she went about it was wrong because she is my staff,” he said. “She should have taken permission before posting it.”
He explained that the situation escalated when he visited his residence and spoke with Winnie’s mother, after which Winnie came out and began shouting at him.
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According to him, his younger brother reacted after feeling disrespected.
“My younger brother told her she was speaking to the executive chairman of the local government, but she replied in a way that angered him,” Epelle said.
He admitted that his brother pushed her during the confrontation but insisted there was no deliberate assault.
“I didn’t support him pushing her and I cautioned him immediately. In the process, she bit her lip with her teeth and that was where the blood came from,” he said.
The chairman maintained that no one intentionally attacked Winnie and described the incident as a misunderstanding that arose during the confrontation.
He urged the public to see the issue as an internal matter involving staff discipline rather than a deliberate act of violence.
