Assassination attempt on Edo APC gubernatorial candidate: One killed, many injured

From Tony Osauzo, Benin

The Edo State Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday said the attempted assassination of its gubernatorial candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, represents a glaring failure by the police, which left a serving senator exposed to gunfire in a breach of security that caused a fatality.

The council called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, and the State Security Service to probe the assassination attempt, bring the culprits to book, and rein in state-sponsored criminals who have brazenly made the political landscape unsafe.

The Campaign Council, in a statement signed by its Director of Publicity, Comrade Orobosa Omo-Ojo, JP, said, “Anything short of this is capable of encouraging self-help in the state, especially as we enter the crucial campaign season.”

The statement, while narrating the incident, said, “Yesterday, 18 July 2024, our candidate for the 21 September 2024 Governorship Election in Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, escaped an assassination attempt when he arrived at the Benin Airport to continue his campaigns. Sadly, the assassins succeeded in gruesomely taking the life of Police Inspector Onu Ako, one of his security details.

“Okpebholo’s peaceful procession from [the] airport to the APC Secretariat would have been conducted peacefully without any problem if the gunmen had not decided to ambush the candidate and his supporters at the Benin Airport exit.

“Let it be known that our candidate did not commit any crime by passing through the airport gate after arriving from Abuja. Likewise [for] members of the APC who received him on his arrival.

“Those that committed the murder of Inspector Ako and attempted to assassinate Senator Okpebholo are the hired criminals who were identified by security agents present at the scene as representatives of the opposition party.

“This unprovoked horrific act of political violence against a peaceful Nigerian Senator should have no place in Edo State. It should be unanimously and forcefully condemned by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the good people of Edo State.

“After careful reflection, the APC regrets the killing of a serving police officer, who was murdered in cold blood while carrying out his official assignment.”

The party said it is appalled by the pain caused by injuries sustained by hundreds of its members during the unexpected attack, adding, “We are grateful that Senator Okpebholo appears to be fine after a despicable attack on a peaceful motorcade.”

The APC disclosed that the vantage point the assassins – who were in a marked Sienna bus opposite the exit gate – managed to acquire, was the greatest security breach and failure, especially as the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye, and other top officers were at the airport to ensure peace.

“Let it be known that no amount of violent desperation will prevent the APC from providing leadership for the determined, concerted, patriotic forces working to take back Edo State and reset it [on the] path of peace and prosperity,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the APC governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, yesterday mourned the death of one of his police details, Inspector Onu Ako, who was shot during the attack on his convoy in Benin on Thursday and demanded justice for him.

“Following the brutal attack on the convoy of Senator Monday Okpebholo by [the] Edo State Security Network and state-sponsored thugs at the exit gate of the Benin Airport on Thursday, Senator Okpebholo has expressed [his] sadness, condoling with the family of the policeman killed during the unprovoked attack.

“In the same vein, the senator empathises with the injured members of his convoy receiving treatment in various hospitals in Benin City,” Okpebholo’s media aide, Godswill Inegbe, said in a statement, adding that the senator will not rest until the perpetrators of the unprovoked, brutal attack on him, leading to the cruel and violent killing of Inspector Akor Onu, are brought to justice.

“I am saddened and heartbroken about the tragic killing of Inspector Akor Onu. He was a good policeman, one of the finest in the Nigeria Police Force,” the statement added.

“Inspector Onu was unreservedly committed to his assigned duty, and due to his exceptional commitment and effective policing, we became friends for over 12 years.”

The statement assured the bereaved family of Inspector Akor Onu that the brutal killing of their breadwinner will not be swept under the carpet by any guise.

Senator Okpebholo prayed for the repose of the soul of Inspector Onu and [a] speedy recovery for the injured receiving treatment in various hospitals in Benin.