Twelve persons have been arrested by the Police in Edo State over the invasion of the state House of Assembly quarters in Benin City by armed thugs, Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, One of the buses used by the thugs was also recovered.
This came as Governor Adams Oshiomhole, after inspecting the scene, expressed shock over the level of mayhem.
Calling
on the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Folunso Adebanjo, to bring the
perpetrators and their sponsors to book, the governor said he would petition
President Goodluck Jonathan on the issue and await his response.
However,
Adebanjo, who disclosed that 12 suspects had been arrested, warned politicians
in the state against sponsoring violence, noting that the command was doing its
best to ensure that those involved in the mayhem were brought to book.
He
said: “Throughout last night (Saturday) we were going round and today
(Sunday) we will continue. The state police command has observed with
concern an upsurge in politically motivated violence in the state, particularly
in Benin City. This does not augur well for peace and tranquility in the state
as we march towards the 2015 general elections.
“The
state command is hereby making it categorically clear that activities of
hoodlums and miscreants geared towards disturbing the peace of the state will
not be tolerated. Political gladiators are warned to stop sponsoring thuggery
in the state. The police will not fold their arms and allow a break down of law
and order. Henceforth, anybody caught sponsoring or taking part in any act of
thuggery will be dealt with decisively according to the laws of the land.
Political actors are advised not to take laws into their hands but to seek
redress through the court system on matters of disagreement between them.
“Edo
people are advised to go about their lawful business without fear of
molestation. They are hereby encouraged to report activities of political thugs
and their sponsors that are likely to disturb the relative peace that is being
enjoyed in the state right now.”
Heavily
armed thugs stormed the Assembly quarters at about 6:30am Saturday shooting
sporadically.
Oshiomhole
alleged that PDP masterminded the attack.
He
said: “It is very clear that the Police granted permission for this attack. The
Commissioner of Police was informed at about 10:00pm last night of
the PDP plan to attack the Legislators’ quarters and the APC office. We made
this intelligence available to the Commissioner of Police and you can see that
even the minimal police presence here was evacuated so that these thugs could
come and unleash a free reign of terror. This morning, when they assembled at a
point where they were meant to assemble, the fact was conveyed to the
Commissioner of Police.
“They
actually assembled at George Idah Primary School this morning before they
proceeded and the Police provided supervision for this very serious criminal
act.”
Reacting
to the allegation that PDP masterminded the attack, the state chairman of the
party, Chief Dan Orbih, said: ”There is no truth whatsoever in the governor’s
allegations that we organized thugs to disrupt the President’s visit and even
the House of Assembly quarters. After welcoming Mr. President to Edo State on
Friday, many of us went to our homes, had a light dinner and went to bed. It is
common knowledge that what happened at the Assembly quarters may have been
borne out of the attack on Mr. Rasaq Momoh, a PDP lawmaker and the fact that
those accused are still free. What happened was not the work of our party. We
believe in the law enforcement agencies to deal with the situation. The
APC has perfected plans to eliminate PDP leaders in Edo State over the attack
in the Assembly quarters.”
He
added it was regrettable that days after the attack on Momoh, “the governor has
not deemed it fit to condemn the attack on an elected member of Edo State House
of Assembly.”
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