APC, police disagree over attack on Okpebholo, Shaibu in Edo

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo has accused the state police command of complicity in the attack on its governorship candidate, Monday Okpebholo, and the reinstated deputy governor, Philip Shaibu.
Gunmen attacked the duo while leaving the Benin Airport shortly after they arrived from Abuja on Thursday.
A police inspector was killed while three other operatives were seriously wounded in the attack.
At a media briefing on Friday, the Director of Media, APC Campaign Council for the September 21 election in the state, Kassim Afegbua, demanded the sack of the state’s Commissioner of Police, Funso Adegboye.
He said the killing of the police officer was witnessed by the CP.
Afegbua said the party had petitioned the Inspector-General of Police to look into the case and check how the police commissioner undermined the role of the police.
According to him, some members of the party who saw the CP at the airport shared the intelligence of what was about to happen, but he unfortunately ignored it.
He said: “It is disheartening to observe that while the ruthless shootings were going on, Adeboye was on ground at the Benin Airport and he did nothing to repel the vicious attack which led to the death of one of his officers.
“As fate would have it, it was our candidate’s police attaché that was killed, while our candidate and the deputy governor missed death by the whiskers.
“From eye witness account, it is very clear that some of these hoodlums are members of the Edo Vigilante Network who were fully knitted in their uniforms.
“The Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, has willfully undermined the responsibility placed on him by law, that is protection of lives and property within his jurisdiction.
“As at today, Edo State is in a state of lawlessness occasioned by the non-control of the source of weapons being paraded by members of Edo State Vigilante Network who were recruited without any formal training.”
He described the attack on the APC candidate as an assassination attempt.
Adegboye, however, absolved himself of blame in the mayhem.
He dismissed claim that intelligence was shared with him before the attack.
“I had information that some people gathered at the airport, supporters and I went in there because our goal is to maintain law and order. Where we discover we have a crowd, we will go there.
“So we were there, myself and my men and it was after these people left the airport that we learnt about the shooting which led to the death of the inspector.
“Nobody gave me any intelligence of what was about to happen. There was no single incidence at the premises of the airport,” the CP stated.
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