Odudu

Jethro Ibileke/Benin

Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chris Ezike, has announced that the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, has taken over investigation of the recent alleged attack on the Edo State Deputy Governor, Dr. Pius Odubu, by suspected political thugs in Auchi, Etsako West local government area of the state.

Ezike announced this Thursday at a meeting with representatives of 20 political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of the September 10 gubernatorial election ‎in the state.

He explained that the IGP resolved to set up a high-powered team of policemen from the Force Criminal and Investigative Department to unravel the circumstances surrounding the reported attack, in the interest of justice.

“I have said that we will do the investigation. At the end of investigation, we are also going to have the courage to tell the world ‎the result of our investigation. I want to ask for caution; when we deal with very sensitive matters, we should not jump to the conclusion before the matter is investigated.

“The correct situation is that the Inspector-General, this afternoon (Thursday) has directed that a high-powered team from the force CID should come and take over that matter and it will be in the overall interest of justice that we allow that team to do their work and then come out with the result of investigation,” Ezike said.

It would be recalled that eight persons, including a policeman and an operative of the Department of State Security, were said to have sustained gunshot injuries when suspected political thugs‎ attacked Dr. Odubu’s campaign team last Saturday during a visit to delegates of the APC at the party’s secretariat at Auchi.

Following the attack, Odubu Campaign Organization alleged that the Deputy Governor was the target of the attack, but the state government described the claim as false and hasty.‎

Meanwhile, Civil Society Organizations of Nigeria in the state have called on the Commissioner of Police, Edo state CP Chris Ezeike to arrest and prosecute the political thugs that attacked the State Deputy Governor, Dr. Pius Odubu.

This is even as the group, N’ Edo Gheria, has called on the Inspector General of Police to bring to book those who masterminded the attack on the state deputy governor, Dr. Pius Odubu last Saturday in Auchi.

The civil society groups observed that the ugly situation portends danger for the country’s democracy.

The group in a statement signed by Marxism Kola Edokpayi, Publicity Secretary, said it is on record that thugs also invaded Oredo local government council secretariat‎ some weeks ago, and up till now the police were yet to arrest anybody even when the car of the Deputy Commissioner of Police was attacked by the thugs who took over the local government cecretariat.

The Human Rights group led by Abraham Oviawe‎ Esq, condemned intoto the animalistic, agberoistic cum malicious attack on the convoy of the Deputy Governor, Hon Pius Odubu by some political thugs when he went to Edo North to brief party supporters of his intention to vie for the office of the Governor.

According the group, “It beats rational imagination that in an era of civilization people don’t appreciate the ethics and ethos of universal democracy which gives the‎ Deputy Governor the right to aspire or vie for any position in Nigeria and beyond as far as he is qualified.

“As the gubernatorial election approaches, we urge politicians not‎ to regard politics as do or die affair as the era of politics with bitterness has been consigned to the dustbin of history. They should abide by the fundamental rules and regulations of the game and desist from using our youths for thuggery, hooliganism and agberoism for their egocentric interests.”

They however appealed to the deputy Governor of Edo State, in the interest of peace to appeal to his teeming supporters to be calm and law abiding moreso that we are still mourning the transition of our revered monarch to the land of his ancestors.

“No evil deed says Dele Giwa can go‎ unpunished, any evil done by man to man will be redressed, if not by man then by God, if not now certainly later, for the victory of evil over good can only be ephemeral,” the statement said

Similarly, the group, N’Edo Gheria, in a statement made available to journalists in Benin, also admonished politicians particularly the aspirants to caution their supporters adding that “service to a people should not be seen as a do or die affair.”

Coordinator of the group, Agene Patrick said, if what happened to the deputy governor, Dr Odubu is treated with kid gloves,the effect is that more violent crimes could be looming in the dark.

The statement read in part, “We in N’Edo Gheria first and foremost, condemn the attack on the state Deputy Governor, Dr. Pius Odubu, whom we learnt was on a legitimate duty trying to meet with delegates ahead of their party’s primaries in Etsako West local government area of Edo state.

“It should be noted that what has happened could also happen to any other aspirant, this is why all and sundry must prevail on the IG and security agencies to fish out the culprit and bring them to book.

“We believe a call to service should not be a do or die affair, rather all aspirants should conduct themselves in such manners depicting that of true leaders.

“While we wish them a peaceful electioneering campaigns, aspirants must convince electorate through policies and agenda of their manifestoes and not the use of guns or thugs,” the statement said.‎