July 19, (THEWILL) – Reinstated Deputy Governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu of Edo State, on Thursday afternoon, escaped an assassination attempt on his life in Benin City, the state capital.
The attempt on the life of the deputy governor and other VIPs including supporters, who were at the Benin Airport to receive him, was carried out at the Airport exit gate roundabout, near Faith Mediplex.
The attack was alleged to have been orchestrated by state-sponsored thugs and members of the Edo State Security Network (ESSN), who witnessed sporadic shootings that left the cheering crowd who had come to welcome the reinstated deputy governor back to Benin, scampering for their dear lives, seeking protection from the flying stray bullets.
However, it took the effort and intervention of security officers to rescue the situation, leaving the state-sponsored thugs and local vigilantes to run from the spot and allowing the rallying crowd to reconvene.
Sadly, one police officer, attached to the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, whose motorcade rode alongside the deputy governor’s convoy, lost his life in the unprovoked brutal attack, with several officers and supporters wounded.
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
