How I Was Abducted, Beaten, Stripped In Benin — Obaseki’s Cousin, Don Pedro

Don Pedro Obaseki, a cousin of former Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki, has claimed he was abducted, beaten, and stripped by suspected assailants in Benin City, Edo State.

In a video shared by Africa Independent Television on Sunday, Obaseki described the ordeal following reports that he had been taken naked to the Oba of Benin’s Palace.

He said the incident happened around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday while he was playing football with the Uwa All Stars at Uwa Primary School in Benin.

According to him, armed men stormed the field, took him, and dragged him through several streets, claiming they were acting on orders from the Oba of Benin’s Palace.

He said, “I was physically abducted, in short, physically kidnapped, some of them holding guns… and they hauled me through the streets of Benin under the guise that they’ve been sent to come and abduct me by the palace of the Oba of Benin.

“I begged them to show me some form of ID, of course not, I was dragged, beaten severely, manhandled and dragged through Igbisawan Street up to Akpapava, which is the main thoroughfare in Benin and up to Ring Road, where I was stripped naked and taken into the palace of the Oba of Benin and where I was meant to kneel publicly.

“I’ve never been so humiliated because I am who I am because of my nativity, my Beninness.”

He added that he was later taken to a police station on Oba Market Road, where the Commissioner of Police intervened and secured his release.

Obaseki said he was traumatized by the incident and claimed the attackers told him his “offense” was a public statement he made in London, where he said, “May Edo people live long and prosper,” instead of referencing the Oba of Benin.

“I hear that my sin was that I went to London and in a public statement I said May Edo people live long and prosper, that I should have said May the Oba live long and prosper, that my saying may Edo people live long and prosper is a cardinal sin in Benin… for me who has elevated the culture of the Benin race in my 35 to 40 years as the pioneer of the present Nollywood,” he stated.

At the time of filing this report, neither the Oba of Benin’s Palace nor the Edo State Police Command has released an official statement regarding the incident.

Watch the video below:

KanyiDaily recalls that the Nigerian Army recently pledged to take swift disciplinary action against a soldier involved in the death of a commercial bus driver in Ondo State.