The Edo State Police Command has deployed additional officers to secure the venue of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Benin City, following escalating tensions during the first week of hearings at the High Court Complex on Sapele Road.
The move comes after incidents of violence, including reported shootings and clashes between supporters of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
The APC candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, was declared winner of the September 2024 governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, having secured 291,667 votes. His closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the PDP, garnered 247,655 votes, while Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party finished third with 22,763 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, the PDP and six other political parties have challenged the results in court, with the PDP seeking to have the election nullified and its candidate declared winner.
Speaking after the election, Ighodalo described the process as deeply flawed. “The way these elections are going, they are probably going to be the worst elections in the history of this country,” he said.
The Centre for Democracy and Development West Africa, which monitored the election, accused both the APC and PDP of vote-buying and reported cases of election officials being intimidated in some areas.
The tribunal’s first week was marred by violence. On Wednesday, a gunman was caught on video shooting sporadically near the court while shouting, “Give us back our mandate.” The next day, thugs allegedly attempted to storm the tribunal venue but were repelled by security personnel.
On Friday, party supporters clashed with private security personnel accompanying a candidate to the tribunal premises, further heightening tensions.
Edo State Police Command spokesperson SP Moses Yamu told The PUNCH on Sunday that more officers had been deployed to ensure security at the tribunal.
“It is our responsibility to ensure there’s no breach of peace at the tribunal, and adequate deployment has been made in this regard,” Yamu said. He urged political parties to respect the rule of law, adding, “The message remains the same. Let the game be played according to the rules.”
In a January 16 statement, the command announced an investigation into the viral video of the shooting incident.
The statement read, “The attention of the Edo State Police Command has been drawn to a viral video of a weapon-bearing young man firing shots in the air and later zooming off in an unmarked white Hilux vehicle to a yet-to-be-identified location in Edo State.
“The Commissioner of Police, Umoru Ozigi, has ordered an investigation into the incident, with a view to unraveling the identity and location of the young man in the viral video for prosecution.”
The APC and PDP have exchanged accusations over the violence. APC Publicity Secretary Peter Uwadiae-Igbinigie blamed the PDP for the unrest, claiming that the private security personnel accompanying Ighodalo posed a threat to court attendees.
“The best global practice in this kind of situation is that we don’t employ non-conventional security officials,” Uwadiae-Igbinigie said. “The conventional security officials that provide security to courts are the police and DSS. Individuals cannot come with their personal security.”
He dismissed allegations that the APC was instigating the crises, stating, “It is most unfair that anybody will accuse the APC of fueling crises. The security challenges we have had have been instigated by the PDP because they know they do not have a good case.”
The PDP, however, accused the APC of trying to distract the tribunal and intimidate its members. PDP Publicity Secretary Chris Nehikhare claimed that private security personnel were hired to protect their candidate and lawyers from APC thugs.
“The private security personnel do not have any business with the court or APC thugs who have been a nuisance to the system,” Nehikhare said. He also alleged that the police were complicit in supporting APC efforts to destabilise the PDP.
Labour Party Public Relations Officer Sam Uruopa called for caution, warning that the violence could undermine democracy.
“The crises portend great danger for democracy,” Uruopa said. “The two leading parties at the tribunal are taking it like war. The way they encourage supporters to go to the tribunal with weapons and not wait for the outcome of the tribunal is dangerous.”