16th October, 2014
Jethro Ibileke/Benin
Hundreds of All Progressives Congress (APC) members and sympathisers, this morning protested round the streets of Benin to protest the arrest and detention of three principal officers of the Edo State House of Assembly by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Those detained are the Speaker, Hon. Uyi Igbe, (Oredo West Constituency), the Majority Leader, Hon. Philip Shaibu, (Etsako West Constituency 2) and the Chief Whip, Hon. Folly Ogedegbe (Owan East Constituency).
The protesters went round the Ring road with placards and later assembled at the state Secretariat of the APC, located at Airport Road.
The arrested lawmakers had announced last Monday during plenary that the anti-graft agency invited them last week to appear in its Abuja office yesterday (Wednesday).
They however linked the invitation to the ongoing crisis in the State Assembly, adding that they are being persecuted by the PDP-led federal government.
It would be recalled that Hon. Shaibu had two weeks ago disclosed that he had been compelled to appear before the EFCC 18 times in the recent past.
Addressing journalists this morning at the premises of the vandalised legislators’ quarters, the House Committee on Information Chairman, Hon. Kabiru Adjoto, and other members of the Committee, decried what he called “negative development” in the state.
He said information reaching them indicate that the three officials of the House who were arrested yesterday are being being investigated for allegedly forging the signature of Hon. Abdul-Razak Momoh during the impeachment of former Deputy Speaker, Festus Ebea.
Adjoto said they were being kept under inhuman conditions and denied medical attention, adding that the Speaker, Uyi Igbe, allegedly collapsed two times this morning, while Hon. Shaibu bled profusely in his injured hand after the EFCC operatives allegedly forcefully removed the bandage on the injury he sustained during the attack on the legislative quarters in the morning of last Saturday.
“President Goodluck Jonathan is aware of this and has given instructions that our colleagues should be detained indefinitely. Every EFCC officials spoken to said the directive is from the Presidency,” Adjoto said.
He advised the anti-graft agency to go and investigate other serious cases of financial corruption in the country and stop chasing shadow in Edo state.
The lawmaker warned that “we will not fold our hands and allow this injustice to go on in Edo state. And if our Colleagues are not released by 4:00 p.m. today, we will organise a one million man match to the Abuja office to let them know that Edo has arrived. ”