Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that he has reasons to believe that the hoodlums who hijacked the recent ENDSARS protest in the state, were political thugs.
Obaseki statrd this at the Government House, Benin City, when he received Commissioner of Police (CP), Abutu Yaro, who is the Chairman of IGP Committee on Assessment of losses of the Nigerian Police Force in the impacted states where #EndSARS disturbance took place.
He said the attack on police facilities in the state was a well-articulated and orchestrated event to undermine the security of the State and Nigeria.
Governor Obaseki, disclosed that the state government, have evidence that some people who lost out were masterminds of some of these activities.
He alleged that the political thugs the defeated politicians brought to the state, during the last election to create havoc, were armed and some of them went to the correctional facilities to release some of their colleagues who were earlier arrested for electoral offences.
Obaseki, therefore charged the Federal Government to set up an investigative panel to look into the destruction of security infrastructure in the state during the hijack of EndSARS protest across the country.
Obaseki said Edo State was heavily impacted as a result of the crisis and the hijack of the protest.
The governor noted that while the protest lasted, in other places, hoodlums were destroying government properties but in Edo State, the focus was on security structure and institutions.
“I hope the Federal Government will deem it fit to set up a panel of inquiry to find out why and who was responsible for such damage to our security infrastructure. It all started in Edo.
“The first police station was burnt in Edo and the correctional facilities were attacked here in Edo State. It was a well-articulated and orchestrated event to undermine the security of the State and Nigeria.
“It started in Edo and we can tell you that it is not totally unrelated to our politics in Edo. We have evidence that some people who lost out were masterminds of some of these activities. The boys they brought in to create havoc for the election were armed and some of them went to the correctional facilities to release some of their colleagues.
“To get to the bottom of this issue, we need to question some of these persons, no matter how highly placed they are. They should be questioned on their roles in destroying security infrastructure in Edo State.
“We have sent out our contractors to do an evaluation of the properties destroyed. We are concerned about the arms removed during the protest by criminal elements who are now attacking and killing policemen and IPOs who prosecuted them.
“It is part of a sustained effort to undermine the state. Pressure is on Edo State Commissioner of Police to release some persons arrested with arms and some people who played vital role in the destruction of security infrastructure.”
But CP Yaro, congratulated the governor on his victory at the September 19, 2020 governorship election and his subsequent swearing-in.
He said he was on a working visit to Edo State with a mandate to go round all states impacted by the #EndSARS protest; access the damages incurred by the police during the protest; visit injured persons, families of the dead and collate the vehicular damages and other infrastructural templates that have been put out of use and report back accordingly to the police management team within three weeks.
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