Special Correspondent, TITUS OISE, takes a look at the worsening crisis in Edo State House of Assembly, which is gradually affecting other segments of the state.
It is no longer news that there are two factions of lawmakers in Edo State House of Assembly, each having a different speaker. The All Progressives Congress (APC) faction, which has 15 members, is led by Uyi Igbe, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction, led by Festus Ebea, has nine members.
Though both factions use different venues for plenary, the crisis rocking the House of Assembly has degenerated to a full scale battle that many fear, if not nipped in the bud, could lead to anarchy. The Igbe faction sits in Government House, while the Ebea group uses House of Assembly Complex.
The new phase of trouble started on the night of Monday, October 6, at the Legislators’ Quarters on Ihama Road when Razak Momoh, a PDP legislator representing Etsako West 1 Constituency, was brutally attacked by armed thugs. It was gathered that yet-to-be identified thugs descended heavily on Momoh when he reportedly scaled the fence of the Quarters at an unholy hour of the night.
It was, however, gathered that Momoh was earlier ejected from the quarters shortly after the Igbe-led House declared his seat vacant, owing to the alleged improper manner of defection from the APC to the opposition PDP.
Despite the alleged ejection, Momoh stayed put in the quarters with his family. He was quoted to have boasted that he would not be stampeded out of the quarters.
Momoh was said to have been severely injured by his assailants who only left him after probably thinking that he was dead. By Wednesday last week, he was still lying critically ill at the Emergency Unit of University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), where he was receiving treatment.
Shortly after the attack on Momoh, the PDP leadership in the state condemned the act, while blaming the APC for the violence. The PDP leadership equally accused Philip Shaibu, Majority Leader of the Assembly, of masterminding the attack on his colleague.
Apparently based on the allegation, the police authority in the state effected the arrest of Shaibu and arraigned him and three others before a Magistrate Court in Benin. The Majority Leader and his co-accused have since been granted bail by the court presided over by Magistrate P.E. Asemota on self-recognition. They were charged for with assault on Momoh.
The governor, Adams Oshiomhole, however, advised the PDP to look inwards as regards the attack on Momoh, who he accused of having a history of violence. According to the governor, “He (Momoh) is someone who has a history of violence, history of carrying guns and attacking people with guns. I have insisted and I still do that everyone who has committed crime must be prosecuted according to the law of the land.
“You would recall that during the last local government election, Razak Momoh was arrested by the police with two guns; a pistol and a double barrel gun. As of that time, 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 the law. He was remanded by the court in prison for four months before he was granted bail, and, as we speak, that matter is pending at the High Court.
“About six months before the election, Razak was shot by his own fellow criminals and he was taken to hospital.”
The governor stressed that he encouraged him (Momoh) to disclose those who shot him and he said he didn’t know.
While Edo residents were yet to come to terms with the new development, on Saturday, October 11, the same legislators’ quarters erupted in orgy of violence, as gunshots rent the air. In the ensuing melee, people ran for dear lives as the heavily armed assailants wreaked serious havoc on the quarters of the APC legislators, especially that of Shaibu. Several vehicles were destroyed and pellets of bullets littered everywhere in the quarters. Obviously, the latest attack on the legislative quarters was retaliatory, because the APC lawmakers are still counting their losses.
Igbe has condemned the invasion, while fingering the PDP.
His words: “The group of assassins and thugs in their hundreds were led into the legislators’ quarters by known faces. After the exit of the hoodlums, a fez cap was found in the premises with the inscription “final push” which is a slogan of a PDP lawmaker’s group.”
Igbe claimed that, “having heard the information of the possible attack, we expected that the security in and around the premises should have been beefed up to foil the attack, but nothing. More so, the few police officers that were supposedly posted to the legislative quarters were absent at the time of attack.”
Oshiomhole, while reacting to the latest attack, berated the police for supervising the odious act.
“For this very criminal act, it’s very clear that the police command granted permission to PDP to carry out this heinous act. It’s 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.
Meanwhile, the Igbe faction of the Assembly has equally expressed loss of confidence in the Nigeria police following the attack on the legislators’.
According to the Deputy Speaker, Victor Edoror, “We were aware that they were going to attack the quarters and we alerted the police. Instead of the police to beef up security, they withdrew the officers on the ground. This act alone shows that they were aware of the attack.”
Edoror, who was recently made the Deputy Speaker, added: “I urge my colleagues to be ready because the state is going into anarchy and we must protect ourselves, since the police can no longer provide security.”
In the face of the unending accusations and counter-accusations, Edo Police Command has warned politicians against sponsoring and masterminding violence in the state.
The warning is contained in a statement issued in Benin by the Command’s Police Relations Officer, Noble Uwoh. The release stressed that the command would not tolerate the activities of hoodlums and miscreants. It also warned politicians masterminding the activities of thugs in the state to desist from it, while stressing that anybody caught in the act of violence would be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the land.
Meanwhile, the Chairman, Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, Edo State, Eduwu Ekhator, has expressed worry over the resort to violence and wanton destruction of lives and properties in resolving differences.
The reaction was contained in a statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen in Benin.
“This mayhem must stop, for it is not a good pointer to our collective responsibility of maintaining law and order in a civilised society,” said the Obasogie of Benin Kingdom.
“As members of one family with a common ancestry, we must learn to resolve our differences truthfully, however painfully, without ever resorting to criminal and lethal action of hurting one another or exposing ourselves to the ridicule of the outside world.”
The centre, as it appears, can no longer hold in Edo.
