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Edo Lawmaker’s attack: Police detain Edo Speaker, majority leader

Edo State House of Assembly Speaker, Uyi Igbe
The Edo State Police Command on Thursday arrested the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Uyi Igbe, and the Majority Leader, Philip Shaibu, over the attack on a lawmaker, Abdulrazak Momoh.
Momoh,   whose seat was declared vacant by the assembly in July, was said to have been attacked by thugs on Tuesday after he allegedly ignored the instruction of security men not to enter the legislative quarters.
The Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker   was rushed to the Accident and Emergency Ward of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.
The PDP had in a statement by its Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, on Wednesday, accused Shaibu and other APC lawmakers of masterminding the attack.
It was gathered that Igbe, Shaibu and another member, Mr. Folly Ogedegbe, were invited to the state police command by the Commissioner of Police, Foluso Adebanjo, at about 11am on Thursday.
But the Majority Leader told newsmen   that they were at the   state police headquarters on their own but were   detained for an offence they knew nothing about.
He wondered why   the police did not prevent the PDP lawmakers from forcefully entering the assembly
complex on the day of the incident.
Shaibu said, “We came on our own volition but they have kept us here for over three hours for a matter we knew nothing about. You could see the intimidation.
“When the PDP lawmakers, including Momoh, forcefully broke into the assembly complex, the police did not invite them let alone arrest them.
“All the court orders that were issued against them were not obeyed. The police   did not do anything to enforce the orders. But you can see we have been detained here since for an issue we know nothing about.”
Momoh also said they had   been invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to appear before it in Abuja on Monday.
He   said the reasons for their invitation was not stated by the anti-graft agency.
The lawmaker added, “The EFCC also invited us to Abuja on Monday. But Nigeria is currently being embarrassed in South Africa for money laundering perpetrated by the Federal Government, and the EFCC has not done anything. This is an attempt to intimidate and eliminate all (Governor Adams) Oshiomhole’s loyalists before the next elections.
“The Federal Government must be careful. The EFCC is not arresting those people who stole our money but they are inviting us when we don’t award contracts. It is a plan to use federal might. The President (Dr. Goodluck Jonathan) should talk to his people because we cannot be intimidated.”
The APC in the state has however raised the alarm over what it considers as a plot by the PDP, through the Federal Government, to incarcerate all Oshiomhole’s loyalists.
The party, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Godwin Erhahon, said, “We are aware of the plots by the PDP to arrest, maim, and eliminate those perceived to be loyalists of Governor Oshiomhole.
“The lawmaker who was beaten went there with thugs and it has nothing to do with our lawmakers. Why are they being arrested by the police?
“But we want to warn that any attempt to intimidate our people in Edo State will be resisted. The PDP cannot use federal might to hunt our people. We are still battling Boko Haram, let us not face another war in Edo State because it might be too much for (President Goodluck) Jonathan to handle.”
The Edo State police commissioner could not be reached for comment on the interrogation of the lawmakers as of   the time of filing this report.

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