As the Edo State government and the reinstated deputy governor of the state, Philip Shaibu, continued to engage in fierce altercation over the mayhem at the Benin Airport exit gate which resulted in the death of Police Inspector Akor Onuh attached to the governorship candidate of the All-Progressives Congress, APC, Thursday July 18. The chief press secretary to the latter, Musa Ebomhiana, has told Godwin Obaseki to hand over to the police authorities, his men responsible for the murder.
Ebomhiana was reacting to a petition by the state government to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG Zone 5 Headquarters, Benin, calling on him to invite Shaibu for questioning for allegedly orchestrating the breakdown of law and order “under the guise of enforcing a court judgement which is a subject matter of a pending appeal, and to which a motion for stay of execution had been filed and served on him”.
In the petition titled, “Request to Investigate a Case of Conspiracy to Commit Murder, Murder, Malicious Damage to Property, Breach of Public Peace and Assault Occasioning Harm by Former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Hon. Philip Shaibu and his Cohorts,” and signed by Prof. Faith Osadolor on behalf of the state Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, the state government accused Shaibu of recruiting “a throng of heavily armed thugs” whom it named, to resort “to self-help, leading to the wanton destruction within the Benin metropolis and death of a Police officer”.
Part of the petition reads: “Firstly, I write to formally express our heartfelt condolences to the Nigeria Police Force on the passing of one of your gallant officers, Inspector Akor Onuh, attached to MOPOL 45 Abuja, who was a victim of the attack of 18 July 2024, instigated by a former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Hon. Philip Shaibu. “Inspector Onuh was a true hero and dedicated public servant who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. His bravery and commitment to protecting others will never be forgotten by the government and people of Edo State. We beseech God Almighty to comfort the Inspector General and other officers of the Nigeria Police, including the family of the departed officer. “In addition to the above, I wish to restate, on behalf of the Edo State Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, that on the 18th day of July 2024, there was a breakdown of law and order which was orchestrated by former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Hon. Philip Shaibu, under the guise of enforcing a court judgement which is a subject matter of a pending appeal, and to which a motion for stay of execution had been filed and served on him. “The facts leading to this petition are presented in the manner below: “On Wednesday, 17th day of July 2024, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja delivered a judgement nullifying the removal of Hon. Philip Shaibu as the Deputy Governor of Edo State. The Edo State Hon. Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, who was sued as the 3rd Defendant in the said suit, immediately lodged an appeal against the said judgement alongside a motion praying the court to stay the execution of the said judgement. Copies of the Notice of Appeal and Motion for Stay of Execution were served on all parties to the Appeal, including Hon. Philip Shaibu.
“On the 18th day of July, 2024, Hon. Philip Shaibu, purportedly in an attempt to interpret and enforce the judgement without awaiting the final outcome of the judicial process, and contrary to the rule of law, recruited a throng of heavily armed thugs (names withheld) resorting to self-help with the aid of the aforementioned armed thugs and non-state actors and in an attempt to overreach the final outcome of the Motion for Stay and Interlocutory Injunction as well as the substantive suit. “In line with their common intention, Hon. Philip Shaibu and his armed thugs invaded the Benin Airport, shooting sporadically, and thereafter moved into town, attacking road users, destroying vehicles, and other private and public properties. In the wake of their attack on harmless citizens, a police officer was shot dead by the fierce thugs while several other citizens were assaulted and sustained varying degrees of injuries, and even lawyers were attacked at the Secretariat of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Benin Branch.” The government said it was reliably informed and believed that Shaibu, the alleged suspects, and others, “conspired with mathematical accuracy to execute with brutal efficiency such that Edo State will become ungovernable by taking over Edo State government house, increasing the level of destruction of the legitimate properties of innocent Edo citizens, and continuing their sporadic and intermittent shootings at targeted areas, amongst others”. The Attorney General therefore demanded that “In the light of the above, we urge you to embark on a thorough investigation of this matter by inviting Hon. Philip Shaibu and other members of his gang, and if found culpable, be brought to book, as no man is above the law.”
But joining issues with the government, Shaibu’s media aide dismissed the petition as part of the “panic and reactive measures” being taken to cover up the heinous crime.
Accusing the state of “executive murder” perpetrated by its “illegal state police”, Ebomhiana, in a statement on Sunday, said “Categorically, we wish to state here that the petition to the police authorities by the Edo State government is purely part of the panic and reactive measures being taken to cover up the heinous crime perpetrated by its illegal “state police” operating under the cover of ‘state vigilante’.
“Obaseki has used his illegal ‘state police’ to commit executive murder, henceforth, he will know no peace. For a man who is expected to protect his people and their property but recklessly mauled one of his subjects in the name of election, he shall sleep no more. The spirit of the Late Inspector Akor Onuh will continue to haunt him as his blood cries for vengeance”.
While stating that calling on the police authorities to investigate his principal and others “is nothing but diversionary”, he contended that it is also “illogical for anyone to contemplate that Shaibu and his supporters will turn around to shoot and kill one of the police officers detailed to protect their gubernatorial candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo. According to Ebomhiana, “It was a day of joy for Shaibu and his numerous supporters, so, Obaseki knew it; and typical of his person, he committed the havoc to put slur on the celebration and stain the white garment of Shaibu. It’s a common maxim in journalism that dog does not eat dog.
“The question the police authorities and well-meaning Nigerians should be asking Obaseki is: “why did he detail his state police, armed with rifles and pump action, at the gates of the Benin Airport, to welcome his estranged deputy or his arch political rival, Monday Okpebholo? Obaseki should be told in clear terms to hand over his men who murdered the inspector to the police”.