The Edo State House of Assembly quarters and the vandalised cars after the attack

Members of the Edo State House of Assembly on Monday recounted their ordeal in the hands of political thugs that attacked their   quarters in Benin on Saturday.

Two of them – Folly Ogedengbe and Adjoto Kabiru – who were among those that took turns to speak during Monday’s plenary, said the attackers operated like Boko Haram insurgents.

Others accused the Peoples Democratic Party leadership in the state of sponsoring the mayhem   and alleged that the state police command was complicit in the crime.

Ogedengbe, who spoke under matter of urgent public importance, said,   “The armed thugs came in a Boko Haram style and shot sporadically at every building they saw.”

He added that his 85-year-old mother was in his home when the hoodlums shot his bedroom windows   and at every door in his apartment for over 25 minutes.

The lawmaker added, “I thought the world was coming to an end. But the Almighty God saved   me and   my family. In fact, My 85-year-old mother was inside my home with me.

“The attack was initiated by   PDP leaders and some of them are already celebrating their victory on television.”

In his contribution, Kabiru said the attackers came “in a commando-like manner” in batches.

He said, “I saw them from a vantage position because my house is just about 500 metres from the main gate of the   Legislators’ Quarters.

“I saw them all. They came in batches and were led by   policemen.   As they were entering, somebody was giving them order by   pointing at houses.

“One of the police officers wore a bulletproof vest,   boots and black trousers.

“What is worrisome is that the police have degenerated into the military wing of the PDP.”

Claiming that there was another plot by the masterminds of the attack to trace the lawmakers to their respective constituencies, Ogedengbe, who is the assembly’s chief whip urged the assembly leadership to inform the Oba of Benin that the lives of the lawmakers were in danger.

Another legislator, Michael Ohio-Ozomo, described the scene of the incident as a battleground.

He specifically lamented the level of destruction visited on Ogedengbe’s   home by the hoodlums   and called on   politicians to embrace peace.

He said, “ When I got into the quarters,   I stopped by the Chief Whip’s residence. It was like a war zone. I saw spent cartridges and bullets on floor. Looking at the level of destruction, I asked myself: ‘Is this what   we are supposed to be doing to ourselves? That a man I spoke with only a few minutes had   gone though such an ordeal?

“It’s about time that we asked ourselves, ‘Is this the kind of politics that we want to play?’

The Speaker, Uyi Igbe,who also lamented the incident, said it was regrettable that the police which was aware of the plot withdrew their men and   officers from the quarters.

“I think what is more worrisome is the fact that the police were aware that this attack will take place and rather than beef up security, they actually withdrew security and left only one policeman there.

“So, it shows the police complicity in the attack. One wonders   if writing a petition to the police would not amount to wasting our time. Instead of being Nigeria Police Force, it’s now PDP Police Force and it’s unfortunate. I think something has to be done.”

The Deputy Speaker, Victor Edoror, said the attackers threatened to revisit them and urged his colleagues to be on the alert.

The Majority Leader of the assembly, Philip Shaibu, claimed that the thugs were mandated by their sponsors to kill at least two lawmakers in the quarters.

He singled out a chieftain of the PDP in the state as the brains behind the attack and alleged that the police were informed of the plot.

Shaibu   said he   was detained by the police even after reporting himself to them.

He said, “The attack was planned in the office of a PDP chieftain and when the meeting was over,   the   Police were adequately informed.     The mandate   they had was to kill at least two of us.

“As we speak,   all those that were involved in this attack   are still on the streets walking freely.’’

The majority leader,who   claimed that   his son and himself were hurt in the attack,   advised that a petition be sent to President Goodluck Jonathan, the Inspector-General of Police, the office of the State Security Service and the military formation in the state.

Another lawmaker, Bamidele Oloruntoba said, “I came out that   morning to warm my car.   It was then that they burst into my premises.   One of them said, “That’s one of the assembly members. When I heard that,   I took cover.

The only female member of the assembly, Elizabeth Ative, said she was about travelling out of Benin with her uncle when the attackers arrived.

“I was about to travel with my uncle for the memorial of his brother-in-law. But when I stepped out,   I remembered that we had not said our morning prayer.

‘‘So, I quickly went back inside and called my family members for prayer. But when I came out and entered my car, the gate was flung open and I heard ‘look at them; look at them.’

“When we ran into the   building before my own, we noticed that   it had also been invaded. I saw all of the attackers. They came from the PDP. I know all of them.

Ative urged youths to resist the temptation of being used by politicians to perpetrate violence.

The lawmaker, who called for the removal of the state police commissioner , challenged the PDP to test its   popularity at the polls.

Also, Paul Ohonbamu, who described the invasion as an act of cowardice, said   he “saw sorrow, tears and blood in the quarters.’’

He said, “It was after the damage had been done that the police came; the governor even got there before the Commissioner of Police.

“What happened on Saturday does not call for celebration. Rather, the sponsors of the attack failed woefully because it was an act of cowardice.”

Johnson Oghuma said, “I had sounded a note of warning. I was taken aback that day when the police commissioner   strolled into the quarters by noon.

“If the President will not question the commissioner of police or replace him, then he is inviting trouble.’’

After their contributions, the lawmakers passed a   motion raised by   Ogedengbe calling on the Federal Government, the Inspector-General of Police and the DSS to investigate and prosecute all those involved in the incident.

In the four-prayer motion, Ogedengbe informed the assembly that   the Speaker,   the Majority Leader and himself had been invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to appear at its Abuja head office on Wednesday.

He called for a proper investigation of the role of the Edo State Police Command in the attack.

Subsequently, the Speaker ordered that a clean copy of the resolution be sent to the office of the President, the IG, the AIG (Zone 5), the state police commissioner, the state Director and the Director-General of the DSS.

Also to receive the resolution are the state governor, the Oba of Benin and the NSA.

About 36 cars and seven buildings were vandalised by the thugs.

Oba of Benin cautions politicians

Meanwhile, the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, has called on politicians in the state to “refrain from politics of bitterness.

The monarch, who expressed worry over the rate of political thuggery and violence across the country by supporters of   political parties, urged political leaders   to “be mindful of the fact that only the living can play politics and not the dead.”

“As political leaders, you are supposed to show good examples for the younger generations to emulate, rather than recruit them as thugs,” the royal father advised in a   statement   by the Information Office of the Benin Traditional Council.

The Oba directed the Enogie, chiefs, Igiohen and Edionwere in Benin Kingdom to pray for peaceful co-existence of Nigerians.

APC indicts police

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress has condemned the attack on the legislative quarters   and alleged police complicity in the act.

The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,   lamented that the attack reminded Nigerians of the level of impunity witnessed last in the dark days the of the military.

The APC insisted that the incident had police backing because of   the ease with which the thugs invaded the quarters .

It added, ‘’Governor   Oshiomhole said the government got intelligence report on the attack and informed the state Police Commissioner. Instead of sending in reinforcement to prevent the attack, the few policemen attached to the quarters were withdrawn .”

The party described as a dangerous phenomenon, a situation whereby the Police would appear to be partisan and carry out only actions that would favour the ruling party at the federal level, to the detriment of the other political interests.

The party alleged that the police were used to harass Governor Rotimi Amaechi, while they stood by while thugs beat up judges and sacked courts in Ekiti State.

It also claimed that the PDP-led Federal Government had   used the police and other security agents to prevent the re-opening of the Ekiti courts despite the order by the National Judicial Council.

It also lamented that the police offered protection to PDP lawmakers in Edo State at the expense of the majority, while the crisis in the assembly lasted.

The statement reads in part, ‘’The IG takes orders only from the President. Therefore, where the President decides to turn the police to his personal militia for use in vindictive and vendetta attacks,the IG is not only required to comply; he is also expected to pass the same orders down the hierarchy.

“This is what is happening across the country. The danger, however, is that when a society descends into anarchy,the same police will not escape the consequences, and will also not be able to handle the outcome of its collusion as professionalism would have deserted it and discipline compromised.”

The APC said the attack on the legislative quarters   would have been prevented if the thugs who molested Oshiomhole and some top officials of his administration, when they went to the airport to receive   Jonathan a few days earlier, had been censured.

It said, ‘’By failing to sanction them accordingly, the powers that be, have simply given a seal of approval to their actions and empowered them to do more, hence they became emboldened to attack the legislative quarters.

The party called on the international community to “pay a very close attention to the impunity in Nigeria, especially ahead of next year’s general elections.”

It said, “It can only be imagined what role the police and other security agencies that have been heavily compromised will play during the elections.

“It is therefore imperative for the international observers who will be coming for the elections to take this into consideration in their report on the processes before, during and after the elections.”