Gunmen on Thursday attacked the reinstated Deputy Governor of Edo State Philip Shaibu, killing one of the security details and injuring at least three.
APC’s Edo governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, was also in the convoy.
The incident occurred along Airport Road, when Okpebholo and several others arrived in the city from Abuja aboard a chartered flight.
A Federal High Court in Abuja had on Wednesday voided Shaibu’s impeachment by the House of Assembly.
But the Assembly, in a statement, said it had appealed the judgement.
According to reports, the gunmen, in a vehicle at the exit gate of the airport, opened fire on the convoy, leading to an exchange with the security details attached to the APC candidate and Shaibu.
The incident forced shops and offices to hurriedly shut down, while majority of motorists abandoned their vehicles and scampered to safety.
Speaking on the incident, Edo police spokesman Chidi Nwabuzor said, “It is premature for the police to confirm at this time until the investigation is concluded.”
However, in a statement on Thursday, the Edo State Government claimed Shaibu-led thugs have unleashed mayhem on innocent citizens in the guise of enforcing the judgment reinstating him to office.
“We want to reiterate that Shaibu will face the consequences of violence he has resorted to in pursuit of his aim to return to the Government House even when he is aware that a stay of execution of the judgment has been filed,” he said.
An aide to Okpebholo, Godswill Inegbe, said in a statement that the governorship candidate and other members of the entourage were being treated at an undisclosed hospital in Benin.
“During the unprovoked attack, three mobile policemen attached to the security detail of Sen. Okpebholo were injured and had bullet wounds, while one of the policemen has been feared dead,” Inegbe said.
