How gunmen attacked me in Lagos-Edo lawmaker

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Godwin Obaseki, Edo State Governor
A member of the Edo State House of Assembly, representing Esan North-East 1 constituency, Patrick Iluobe has narrated his harrowing experience with gunmen who stormed his Lagos home.

Though, the motive behind the attack is still not clear, Iluobe, who is now recuperating from injuries sustained during the attack in an undisclosed hospital in Lagos, believed the attack was politically motivated and might not be unconnected with the crisis that rocked the Edo State House of Assembly few months ago, where he featured prominently in the impeachment of the former speaker.

Narrating his ordeal, Iluobe, who is the minority leader in the Edo State House of Assembly, said the gunmen stormed his resident at about 1:30 am, upon which they demanded to know his whereabouts and that of his wife and children from his personal security.

The visibly terrified lawmaker said when he noticed the presence of the armed men, and made attempts to escape through the back gate in the compound, but unknown to him one of the armed men was positioned there, and attacked him leading to the injuries he sustained.

“I came to Lagos for a business meeting and had to spend a night in my resident. At exactly 1:30am on Wednesday, January 25th, 2017, I noticed the presence of some armed men who forced themselves into the compound. They demanded to know the whereabouts of my wife and children. Today, I am happy that my family was not with me and also I managed to escape, though with serious injuries on my head and left leg,” he said.

He disclosed that some personal belongings were taken away and some doors and windows destroyed during the attack.

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When asked who and what could be behind the attack, the lawmaker, who acted as speaker extempore after the impeachment of Victor Edoror, former speaker of the House of Assembly said it was difficult to specifically point finger at anybody, but blamed the attack on some unnamed politicians from his home state of Edo, who were still bitter about the role he played in the state House of Assembly.

He said the incident had been reported to the appropriate authorities, regretting that at this stage in Nigerian democracy, some politicians still played politics of bitterness.

The Edo State House of Assembly was last year engulfed in crisis after the impeachment of the former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Victor Edoror and his Deputy, Mr. Bright Osayande, which led to the installation of Mrs. Elizabeth Ativie, the only female lawmaker in the house.

The lawmaker and his family have been victims of vicious attacks recently.

Recall that the lawmaker’s family house in Benin, Edo State was attacked on the 8 June, 2016, leading to serious injuries sustained by his wife and eldest son.

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