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Tragedy struck on Thursday during the homecoming reception for the reinstated Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, when a policeman, Inspector Onu Ako, was killed.
The incident occurred along the Airport Road in Benin City, shortly after Shaibu’s entourage left the Benin Airport.
Inspector Ako, who was attached to Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the upcoming September 21, 2024, governorship election, was fatally shot during the procession.
Edo State Police spokesperson, Chidi Nwabuzor, confirmed the incident and announced that the state’s Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye, has issued a stern warning against political thuggery.
Adegboye assured that those responsible for the killing would be apprehended and brought to justice.
The APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have since traded accusations over the death of the officer.
Shaibu, who has been in a protracted conflict with Governor Godwin Obaseki, returned to Edo State following his reinstatement by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The court had ordered Shaibu’s reinstatement, along with the payment of his salaries and allowances from April, when the state assembly impeached him.
The court also issued an order restraining Obaseki and the Edo State House of Assembly from preventing Shaibu from performing his official duties.
Shaibu, who declared his support for the APC’s Okpebholo against the PDP’s Asue Ighodalo, returned amidst heightened political tensions in the state.