….Says it was like war
By Nnamdi Ojiego
The residence of former Edo State Governor and African Democratic Congress, ADC, chief, Chief John Oyegun, was attacked by unknown gunmen on Tuesday.
The attack was said to have occurred when leaders of the party, including Mr Peter Obi, the Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate in 2023, were holding a meeting.
Signs of the attack were visible with broken bottles, gunshots holes at the gates and damaged vehicles.
The politicians had earlier attended the party’s rally organized to formally receive former Edo State governorship candidate of LP, Mr Olumide Akpata, into the ADC. In this interview first aired on Arise News, the Obidient Movement National Coordinator, Yunusa Tanko, gives a detailed account of the incident that happened in Benin-City. Tanko describes the episode as resembling a battlefield, alleging that the attack was aimed at Obi. He rejects suggestions of an internal party clash and instead calls for a full investigation into what he terms a serious security breach.
Excerpts:
There are conflicting accounts about an alleged internal crisis within the ADC, claims that some aggrieved members were excluded, and reports of thuggery in Edo State. From your vantage point, what exactly happened in Benin-City on Tuesday?
On Tuesday, Mr. Peter Obi, in his characteristic manner, visited Edo State. In visiting Edo State, he had two agendas. First was to visit St. Philomena Science and Nursing College, right here at number 23 Darwin Street.
The second event was to formally receive the former governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Olumide Akpata, into the ADC and that was to take place in Upeleka Street, right there in Benin. He (Obi) arrived very early in the morning, and then we went straight to St. Philomena Science and Nursing College. At that place, we had a wonderful reception.
The students were so excited, elated, that Mr Obi revisited them again, based on the promise that he made that he was going to visit them again to continue in his philanthropic support to the school and he ended up donating the sum of N15 million to the school. After that, we went back to the hotel and, you know, to just wait for a moment to go straight to the venue of the event.
Naturally, it is expected that Obi should visit the leaders of the political party that he belongs to. So, we went straight to Chief Oyegun’s house. In Oyegun’s house, he (Oyegun) welcomed us warmly, and then we assessed if there were any issues whatsoever, and those issues that assumed internally were quickly resolved, and everybody was with us. We went straight to the venue.
Under attack
So, as far as we are concerned, those who are claiming there were internal issues whatsoever, nothing like that happened. Seriously, nothing because the two former governors of Edo State – Chief Oyegun, and Professor Osunbor, and every other person went with us to the venue. And I must say here that when we arrived at that venue, we were warmly received by enthusiastic members of the political party, hundreds of them.
And we went up to this two or three-storey building at Upeleka Street. Right there, while we started the program, information reached us that there were hoodlums heading towards us to come and disrupt the program. So, the MC and leaders of the party hurriedly managed the situation, and then we concluded our program successfully and left. Five minutes after we had left, while we were at Chief Oyegun’s house, information reached us that the party secretariat was under attack, under siege. Many people were allegedly shot.
One or two persons were shot. We are yet to ascertain that. Some were said to have been shot on the neck, and some were allegedly shot on the head. We are yet to confirm this particular report. But then, you could see the footage where the office was vandalized. At that point, we reassessed the situation. Our leaders looked at what could be done to quickly call security agencies to rush to that particular secretariat in order to protect lives and properties. I must say here, it was expected that probably the state government should have been number one security to protect lives and properties at that venue. That did not happen.
Pandemonium
So, it comes to my imagination. Had it been that they met us in that particular venue, three-storey building, where leaders, people with impeccable character, three former governors there, if they came shooting at that particular venue, the kind of pandemonium that would have happened, more lives would have been lost. After we had concluded our discussion, we were about leaving the home of Chief Oyegun, then, the shooting started. First, it was a warning shot and that was followed by multiple shots. It was like we were in a war. And then, Mr . Obi courageously, with his other colleagues, came out to look at what was going on, but the security people said, no, we must go back inside. So, we went back in.
Then, the security people challenged the assailants and then we were able to come out courageously. And for me, this was just an example of leadership from Mr. Peter Obi and his colleagues. They came out to see what was going on. That was when we realized that the gates of Chief Oyegun were sprayed with a lot of bullets and cars, about six to seven cars, were damaged. And this happened in the GRA in Benin, highbrow area and nobody came to the defense and protection of the people, except for the security agents with us. This is the exact situation that happened in Benin on Tuesday. I was a victim of that situation.
You mentioned that you expected some level of state-provided security. The governor had earlier advised that politically exposed persons should notify authorities ahead of visits. Was this protocol followed in your case? Were security agencies formally informed of your movement?
For us, coming from the governor’s statement, which somebody reposted yesterday, it was a clear attempt of assassination. It may be direct or indirect. That is the way I feel. Because you’re talking about Olumide Akpata, former President of NBA, who knows the rules and regulations of our country, will not subject himself to unconstitutionality and he is a law-abiding person. So, therefore, everything that needed to be done must have been done by the leadership of the party at that particular venue. Inviting Peter Obi to this very important program of his must have been done with due diligence.
But I must say the government failed in its responsibility as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chapter 2, that you must protect lives and properties, even if, let’s assume, even if that you said that probably you have not been notified, it is the duty of the government to protect lives and property in that particular venue. It’s known, it’s a public knowledge that such an event was going to take place. So, they failed in their duty, or deliberately so, because I remember General Sani Abacha saying that if you see a crime being committed and the government did not respond within 24 hours, then the government hand is in it. Well, it’s not up to 24 hours but then we are still counting. This must be investigated.
That is exactly my concern. An investigation has not yet been concluded, yet strong claims have already been made. Based strictly on what you personally witnessed, was there any clear indication from the attackers’ language, vehicles, or conduct that directly linked them to the state government? Or would you describe the allegation at this stage as a preliminary suspicion? Given the sensitivity of the matter, how careful should the public be about separating verified facts from early assumptions?
Well, it’s good that we speak on facts. And coming from the statement that was made by the governor, I was inside the house, and when we came out, they had already concluded what they wanted to do at that point, and ran away. So, we couldn’t have assessed, probably hearing them, what they may have said or so. But it was a daring attack. What level of courage and determination would anybody have to come to a GRA, the residence of a former governor, with two other former governors, and then you shoot at them? What else do you expect? Could they be just hoodlums on the streets? Obviously not. Something must have happened. So, we were clear on this. And you know what? We are just coming from an election on the 21st of February, and our agent was killed right here in Abuja. So, it is a kind of a choreographed attempt on the lives of the opposition. And clearly, it is Peter Obi that is the subject of matter here.
Was Senator Roland Owie in all of your meetings? Secondly, was there a skirmish on Monday at the residence of Chief Oyegun?
I’m not aware of any skirmish. Normal internal issues, maybe discussion and all, may have happened but as far as I’m concerned, I saw Chief Owie at the venue. He was right there at the venue. We shook hands. So, if there’s going to be kind of an orchestrated attack, would he make an attack on himself when he knew that he could not jump from a two or three-storey building? That would be killing yourself. So, he was there.
When you people got the alert that these hoodlums were going to attack, did you call the police?
Of course, we reported it to our people that were there, I mean, the security operatives that were with us, so that they could take it up normally, and they did. That was why we left the place instantly after concluding our program. So I wouldn’t know if they did inform the police.
Did the attack happen in two places – in the office and in the home of Chief Oyegun? Do you have pictures of those that you claimed were shot in the neck and in the head?
I said that these ones were going to be what we will investigate. There was a video already making the rounds where a lady showed where she was shot between her ear and her head. It’s everywhere. And those ones we will also ascertain after reviewing what really happened, so that we can get clarity and facts to some of the matters.
Edo State government says the incident stemmed from internal ADC disputes, while your camp suggests possible state complicity. Has your party formally engaged the state authorities to seek clarification? Also, given concerns that tensions often rise during Peter Obi’s visits, has the ADC reviewed that pattern?
Finally, what concrete steps will your party take to identify those responsible and prevent a recurrence, in line with the constitutional right of all political actors to move freely without intimidation?
This is why it is very imperative and good that we have clean, fair and credible elections, where credible leaders who have the qualities of leadership should be in power. Unfortunately, we don’t have such. And that is why the governor needs to have been guided in his utterances and how he speaks to the people that he is supposed to and sworn to protect. Unfortunately, this is a governor who is supposed to be the number one citizen of the state but cannot guide his utterances and speak correctly to the people for them to understand, this means he is the number one accused in this incident. I say this with all due respect because Mr. Peter Obi was performing his constitutional duty of going to states, places, as a political leader, which does not give any colouration in any way, and can’t be stopped.
Against interests
Remember that we had a similar situation in Benue State. And so, it is not within the justifiable reason for Mr. Peter Obi not to visit Edo State. And I must say this, anytime Mr. Peter Obi visits Edo State, the level of welcoming, I just stated this in the beginning, you saw what happened at St. Philomena College, you saw the reception that Mr. Peter Obi got at the secretariat of the ADC. So, it’s not true that tensions often rise during Obi’s visits. It is because of the love and the fear of the governor probably losing his seat or seeing that people love another person as against his interests, and then he resulted into a rofo-rofo fight.
That’s what happened, because really, when Mr. Peter Obi arrives in such a state, it is expected that security should be provided for him, whether he asks or he does not ask. It is expected, because he is a high profile individual that you wouldn’t want anything to happen to, not because of him alone, but because of your responsibility as a governor. And you look at him as an opponent rather than a colleague in a political space for good governance in Nigeria. We indulge this kind of situation, and we feel it’s normal. It is not normal. And, of course, the party will take its decisive position to deal with these particular issues as they happen. They have the right to do an investigation and make their statement accordingly. But what I want to push here is that it is expected that the governor does due diligence and knows his right as a governor, not as an opponent. There are two different things here. Some of them look at themselves as opponents rather than to perform their duties as governors. Governor means you are governing the states, for crying out loud and in governing the states, you protect the interests of every citizen.
The post Peter Obi: Full story of assassination claims in Edo, by Obidient Tanko, eye witness appeared first on Vanguard News.
