Following Saturday morning’s attack on the legislators quarters in Benin, the Edo State capital, by some suspected hoodlums who damaged about 36 vehicles, the state police command has placed its officers and men on 24-hour vigilance to prevent further crisis.
The state police commissioner, Foluso Adebanjo, who spoke to newsmen in Benin on Sunday, said that patrol teams from the command had started roving the state capital day and night in order prevent a re-occurrence of Saturday’s incident.
“We have arrested 12 suspects and recovered the vehicle they hired to perpetrate the crime. We want to arrest their leaders too and charge the suspects to court soon, the Command had recovered more arms and ammunition used to carry out the attack”. Adebanjo said.
The command has however cautioned political leaders to stop sponsoring acts of hooliganism in the state, as Adebayo warned that the police would not condone any act that could lead to breakdown of law and order in the state.
A statement issued by the police spokesman, DSP Noble Uwoh, said anybody caught in any act of thuggery would be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the land.
Uwoh warned politicians in the state against taking the law into their hands and advised anyone who feels wronged by others to seek redress in the court, adding that the increase of politically motivated violence poses a great danger to the peace and tranquility of the state.
Meanwhile, some protesters on Sunday morning took to the streets at Agbede, Etsako West local government area, expressing concern over the health condition of former Edo lawmaker, Abdul-Rasaq Momoh, who was attacked by hoodlums on Friday.
The protesters who were reacting to the violence unleashed on the lawmaker whose seat was declared vacant in the Assembly, carried placards of various inscriptions and stopped the movement of vehicles on the Auchi/Benin expressway for about four hours, thereby causing traffic jam on the two sides of the expressway.
It took the intervention of security men, who were drafted from Auchi, to displace the youths from the road.