Governor Sheriff Oborevwori is yet to make any official statement after the alleged involvement in the arrest of Mr. Uge Elo Kenneth, a content creator who took his bath in murky water at the middle of Shell Road in Sapele, the administrative headquarter of Sapele local government area of Delta State.
The rumoured arrest of Kenneth, by the police, is yet to be confirmed in official quarters.
The State government and the police have not debunked the allegation of the arrest of Kenneth who was picked weekend, Saturday 5, October 2024.
Although, a government official, the Director General, Delta State Orientation and Communications Bureau, Dr (Barr) Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe, justified the arrest on grounds of his health, did not come our clean on who ordered the arrest of Kenneth.
He said, “the young man ought to consider the health implication of his misguided action”.
He stated this on Monday October 6, 2024, in reaction to the purported arrest of a Deltan in Sapele over his trending video on social media platforms, wherein he was sighted bathing in dirty road waters to attract government attention.
It would be recall that The Story, reported that an unidentified man who recently used TikTok to highlight the deplorable state of Shell Road in Sapele, the administrative headquarter of Sapele local government area of Delta State, likening the road to a “swimming pool” due to frequent flooding has been arrested by security operatives.
In the viral video, the man was seen taking a “bath” in the middle of the road, where water had gathered because of the poor condition of the road.
His actions were intended to draw the attention of the state government to the lack of proper infrastructure in the area.
It was gathered that instead of the government addressing the road issue, the State government allegedly sent undercover security agents to apprehend him.
In the video, the man directly called out the incumbent Governor, Rt. Jon. Sheriff Oborevwori and former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, saying, “Governor Sheriff, former Governor Okowa, you have failed us. Look at the road, it’s like a pool.”
The yet to be identified man who spoke in pigin English said: “ehe, you know say Sheriff and the local government chairman dem no gree do road for us.
“So, the swimming pool went dem do for us so, I wan really appreciate dem for this swimming pool wen dem do for us.
“So, the swimming pool wey dem so, we appreciate, I wan baff”, he then requested for soap and his bathing sponge applied the soap and started bathing with dirty water.
Speaking further, he said: “dem no gree do road, so, the swimming pool wey dem do for us so, we appreciate them. Sheriff, Eugene, una try. Sheriff una try, O Eugene, God bless you.
God bless all of una. Okowa, anywhere you dey, God bless you. Okowa, you try for building swimming pool. Okowa, you no gree do road, alright.
“Una no gree do roads, Sheriff, God bless you. Okowa, God be with you, Eugene, God bless you, una try. Okowa, God bless you for this swimming pool, Sheriff, una good, una thank you oooo”, before walking out of the ‘borrow pit” water on Shell Road, Sapele.
However, his protest against the government’s inaction resonated with many on social media.
Despite the man’s creative protest, no immediate steps have been taken to fix the road.
The arrest has sparked criticism from the public, with many questioning why the government’s focus was on silencing the individual rather than addressing the underlying problem of poor infrastructure.
The video continues to circulate online, amplifying the calls for better roads in Delta State.
At press time, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Edafe Bright, could not be reached for comments.
However, a senior police officer who confirmed the arrest, said that the matter has been politicized.
An X user, Kelechi Chukwu, posted: “The most scary of them all is coming on mufti to arrest the young man! If anything happens to him, they will deny and even request for evidence to show that he was arrested by any known lawyer enforcement agents! It is scary”.
Seiyefa Goodluck, said: “This is just super crazy !! You would rather spend state resources to arrest an innocent man than actually do the right thing by fixing the road”.
Ikechukwu, “My own question is did the community allow those animals to arrest him? If Nigerians don’t stand up to this terrorist government then we shouldn’t even be complaining about anything”.
JournalNG, “Delta State Government must rise to it’s responsibility by attending to this deplorable condition”.
Austin Akpan, said “Governor @RtHonSheriff and @DSGovernment fix the roads and stop arresting people for exposing your abysmal performance.
“You’ve rotating round a flyover at PTI and doing nothing else yet you expect people not to talk about the ugly roads that we have”.
Mazi Oji, “A man was being oppressed. Many people showed sympathy from afar, while others said it wasn’t their business.
One day, the oppression reached their side.
“But by then, it was too late. The oppressors had functioned too long without resistance. Oppression is everyone’s business”.
Dove, “Let’s set the record straight! The individual in this video was not arrested by the Delta State Government.
“Also, HE @RtHonSheriff is constructing multiple roads in Sapele to enhance connectivity. Please, let’s spread positivity, not misinformation”.
Amb. Fegor Ochuko, “Sad to see! @DSGovernment must look into this urgently. People must be able to express themselves freely! Freedom of speech is not a crime. Anyone that doesn’t want criticism should not run for or accept to be in public office.
However, PDP Republic, which defended the State government posted thus “This a very false narrative, no one was arrested.
“Also, the good Governor, HE. Sheriff Oberevwori’s administration is constructing roads in Sapele”, they said.
