As suspected armed thugs fired intermittently for unknown reasons, persons in the vicinity of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Benin City fled for their lives, causing fear among onlookers and drivers along nearby highways.
This occurred when the Election Petition Tribunal, presided over by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, began hearing on seven petitions yesterday contesting the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) Governor Monday Okpebholo’s election as the state’s 2024 governor.
It was caught on camera when an unnamed young man wearing a white face cap, T-shirt, and facemask loaded rounds into a pump-action rifle and shot several times into the air while yelling. He then got into a white Toyota Hilux and drove off.
APC, PDP fight over shootings by suspected thug
In response, Jarrett Tenebe, the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said that the attack was carried out by Asue Ighodalo’s supporters, a candidate for the PDP.
He said, “Today’s shooting incident within the venue of the Governorship Election Tribunal in Benin City involving members of the opposition PDP is a deeply disturbing and unacceptable act of violence.
“The Tribunal is a sacred space where justice is meant to be administered impartially. Any act of violence within its walls undermine the very foundation of our legal system and threatens the safety of all involved.
“Regardless of political affiliation, resorting to violence to resolve disputes is never justifiable. We must all condemn such actions in the strongest possible terms.
“Violence has no place in a civilized society, and those responsible for this heinous act must be brought to justice swiftly and without exception.”
In response, Tony Aziegbemi, the state’s acting PDP chairman, stated the claim that the thugs were PDP-sponsored was untrue.
He said, “The APC in Edo State, which is clearly scared of justice, has continued their devious ploy to frustrate our party, the PDP, from reclaiming the mandate duly given to us by the good people of Edo State in the last governorship election at the tribunal and has now resorted to deploying thugs disguised in PDP-branded attire to disrupt the legal process, while pointing accusing fingers at our party.
“We strongly dissociate ourselves from the shooting incident that occurred today at the venue of the Governorship Election Tribunal in Benin City, and want to unequivocally state that this shameful incident is yet another in the series of clandestine efforts by the APC to frustrate the legal process and tarnish the image of our party.
“Please tell me, why would the PDP attempt to disrupt the only opportunity it has to reclaim the mandate given to it by the people of Edo State during the last governorship election.
“The PDP is aware that its only pathway to justice is through the legal process, so, it would be utterly senseless for anyone to suggest that the party would deploy thugs to disrupt this very process and jeopardize its own chances.
“We urge the APC to exhibit more intelligence when concocting these lies and peddling their usual falsehoods to advance their devious plans. No one needs to be told that it is the APC that is orchestrating this chaos, resorting to disguising their thugs in PDP-branded attire in a desperate and poorly executed attempt to mislead the public.
“We also want to state that the PDP directed all its supporters and members to stay away from today’s tribunal proceedings. This directive was strictly adhered to because we anticipated APC’s plans to instigate violence and disrupt the proceedings. Unfortunately, we did not foresee that they would stoop so low, employing thugs and masking them in PDP-branded attires in their desperate attempt to cling to power at all costs.
“While we are surprised that the police did not arrest the individual who was shooting sporadically in public without restraint, we are calling on them and other law enforcement agencies to ensure that the gun-wielding thug, whose face was clearly visible in the video trending on social media, is arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law,” he added.
Accord opens case for hearing.
The tribunal rescheduled the hearing in the case filed by Dr. Asue Ighodalo and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to January 17, 2024, so that the parties can meet with the court registry prior to the hearing on Thursday to discuss the parties’ material presentation.
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Action Democratic Party (ADP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), and PDP (Accord party) are contesting the APC and Governor Okpebholo’s victory.
In order to support his petition, Dr. Bright Enabulele, the Accord party’s candidate, presented three witnesses through his attorney, J. Dagher, yesterday when the session began.
In his witness statement, Mr. Zakaria Yahaya, the prosecution’s first witness (PW1), asked the court to use it to bolster the petitioner’s argument.
Daisy Nwanchukwu also testified before the tribunal, claiming to have worked as a polling unit agent in Oredo Unit 9, Ward 3.
Victoria Ogbebor, a 70-year-old PW3, said in her witness testimony that she represented her party in Unit 32 in the state’s Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area during the election.
The hearing in the Accord Party suit was postponed until today.
The petitioners’ lead attorney, Adetunji Oyeyipo, SAN, was represented by Ken Mozia, SAN, who told the court that his clients were prepared to submit meticulously organized election-related documents. He also insisted that the documents up for tender from the bar were expertly organized to ensure a smooth process for all parties involved.
Onyeachi Ikpeazu, SAN, Emmanuel Ogala, SAN, and Kanu Agabi, SAN, the attorneys for Okpebholo, APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, disagreed with the petitioners’ counsel’s submission, arguing that the documents ought to have been filed with the court before they could be admitted as exhibits.
Shortly after the court adjourned, Ighodalo told reporters he had faith that the judiciary will regain his authority.