Hoodlums invadEdo legislators’ quarters, vandalise 36 cars, 7 houses

By TONY OSAUZO, BENIN

 …As Oshiomhole accuses PDP, police of complicity
The crisis rocking the Edo State House of Assembly took a dan­gerous dimension yes­terday as suspected thugs invaded the legislators’ quar­ters and unleashed terror, de­stroying 36 cars belonging to members of the All Progres­sives Congress (APC).
The thugs who apparently came on reprisal attack, following an earlier attack on a former PDP law­maker, Hon. Razak Momoh whose seat has been declared vacant, also shot at doors and windows of seven chalets inhabited by APC lawmak­ers, leaving property worth several millions of naira destroyed on the trail of their operation.

Eyewitnesses said the invaders started converging on the George Idah Primary School as early as 6:30am from where they launched the attack.
The thugs, Sunday Sun gath­ered, reportedly tied up the security man at the gate before gaining en­try as the policemen attached to the lawmakers were said to have been withdrawn earlier in the week on orders from above.
Following the attack, some of the APC lawmakers were said to have sustained injuries as they fled the rampaging attackers.
Governor Adams Oshiomhole who was conducted round the leg­islators’ quarters yesterday by the Speaker, Rt. Hon Uyi Igbe, ex­pressed shock at the level of de­struction in the quarters.
Addressing journalists after the inspection, Governor Oshiomhole said, “PDP leaders had a meeting where it was decided that thugs should be recruited using one Ide­hen to perpetrate this attack.
“It is very clear that the police granted permission for this attack. The Commissioner of Police was informed about 10:00pm last night of the plan of the PDP to attack the legislative 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 can come and have a free reign of terror. This morning, when they as­sembled at a point 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. It is very clear that the police command granted permission to PDP to carry out this heinous crime,” the Gover­nor alleged.  He said at a time when the country is confronted with insurgency and other forms of violent crimes, he expected that any function­ary of the other party will share the concern of the President on peace and se­curity, adding “you can see some of the PDP leaders in Edo State having lost out and rejected by the people believe that they can create a situation that will make Edo State ungovernable and create complete distraction in their futile calculation that they can remove them­selves from power.
“This is a very danger­ous thing. I am not so much worried about the violent character of the PDP, I am more worried by what seems to be the police read­iness to provide them with cover,” he said.
Comrade Governor Os­hiomhole who also spoke on the attack on a former member of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Rasaq Momoh recalled that dur­ing the Local Government Election, Razak Momoh was arrested by the police with two guns; a pistol and a double barrel gun, adding that at the time of his arrest, he was still a member of ACN.
“When he was arrested and the facts were brought to my attention, I asked the police to ensure that he was prosecuted according to law. He was remanded by court in prison for four months before he was grant­ed bail and as we speak, that matter is pending at the High Court.”
He disclosed that about six months before the elec­tion, Razak was shot by his own fellow criminals and he was taken to the hospi­tal, saying that he encour­aged Rasak Momoh to dis­close who shot him and he claimed he didn’t know.
“This is someone who has a history of violence. History of carrying guns and attacking people with guns and I have insisted and I still do, that everyone who has committed crime must be prosecuted according to the law of the land.
“The fact that he is a law­maker makes it imperative for him to be seen to obey the law and the police told me then that when he was arrested, he asked the po­lice, do you know who he is? That he is a member of the House of Assembly and the police had to remind him that he doesn’t have immunity,” Governor Osh­iomhole said.
He said: my warning to PDP is that power is very transient. Today you are in power, tomorrow you are out of power. Any crime you have committed that the present political order covers you, when the order changes, you will report to justice. “Yesterday (Friday) at the Airport, the President came and in line with my conviction that he is the President of Nigeria and not of a particular party, I went to receive him. When he was here two weeks ago to address a rally, I went to the airport to receive him. For me that is the idea of poli­tics. It is not war. It should not be so primitive
“Yesterday (Friday) again, I went to the airport to re­ceive the President for the ground breaking ceremony of a private sector investment which we jointly midwifed with over $800 million. This same Pastor Ize-Iyamu organised rascals who were abusing themselves.
“The whole idea of their plan was to create a scene at the airport because they have no responsibilities and I have responsibility. If there was any fracas at the airport, it would seem as if the Governor of Edo State was not able to receive the President.
“Because they didn’t get a response, they descended on APC Chairman, and they attacked him, attacked the Chief of Staff and the Sec­retary to the Government. I advised them to leave them as two wrongs do not make a right.”
He said, “The activities of the rascals cannot distract us from governance, it will not lead us to resorting to their primitive practice and we will document all these facts and draw the attention of the President and I will like to see how the President re­sponds to them.”
Reacting to Governor Os­hiomhole’s allegations, the leadership of the Edo State PDP, at a media briefing in Benin denied that it master­minded the attack on the leg­islators’ quarters.
The state chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, who addressed journalists, said no meeting was held late on Fri­day night where they plotted the attack, pointing out that the only business conducted on Friday was to welcome President Goodluck Jona­than to Edo State.
“There is no truth what­soever in the governor’s al­legations. After welcoming Mr. President to Edo State on Friday, many of us went to our houses, had a light dinner and went to bed.
“It is common knowledge that what happened May have been borne out of the at­tack on Hon Rasaq Momoh,” he said.

Credit/ The Sun