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In what is fast shaping into the latest episode of raw political muscle-flexing in Benue State, the multi-million naira Verlush Restaurant and Lounge, owned by Dr. Emmanuel Shior, was completely flattened in the early hours of Saturday by operatives of the Benue State Urban Development Board acting on “executive orders” from Governor Hyacinth Alia.
Located along the ever-busy Jonah Jang Crescent in Makurdi, the upscale hospitality outfit was reduced to rubble without prior notice, without marked contravention stickers, and without allowing the owner or staff to salvage even a single chair. Bulldozers escorted by heavily armed security personnel cordoned off the area from Friday night and by dawn the entire structure was history.
Dr. Shior, a known political heavyweight and close ally of former Governor Samuel Ortom, is the leading opposition figure eyeing the Makurdi/Guma Federal Constituency seat on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2027. Sources close to the businessman-turned-politician say the demolition has left him shell-shocked, especially as neighboring businesses, including the popular Star Shawarma directly opposite Verlush, remain standing and fully operational.
As at Sunday afternoon, neither the Urban Development Board nor the state government has issued any official statement explaining the specific violation that warranted the instant demolition. Residents who spoke anonymously described the operation as “pure intimidation,” pointing out that marked illegal structures in the same area have lingered for months without consequence.
The development has ignited fierce reactions across the state. PDP stalwarts have labeled it “state-sponsored witchcraft” and “governance by vengeance,” vowing to resist what they call the weaponization of government agencies against perceived political enemies. Supporters of Governor Alia, on the other hand, insist the action was long overdue enforcement of urban planning laws, though many struggle to explain why only Shior’s property was singled out in that sweep.
This is not the first time the Alia administration has flexed demolition powers on properties linked to opposition figures. In 2024, several businesses and residential buildings allegedly tied to PDP chieftains were similarly pulled down, often under controversial circumstances.
For now, the rubble of what used to be one of Makurdi’s choicest nightspots stands as a stark reminder that, in Benue politics today, concrete and steel can become casualties when elections are still two years away. Whether this latest demolition will calm Governor Alia’s political appetite or simply pour petrol on an already smoldering opposition fire remains the question on every lip in the Food Basket State.
