By Hendrix Oliomogbe – Benin (Tribune online)
THE crisis rocking the Edo State House of Assembly degenerated into a violent confrontation Tuesday evening as 15 Iawmakers-elect, including Mr. Seidu Oshiomhole (Etsako West 11), the younger brother of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were attacked by some suspected hoodlums.
Some of the lawmakers were said to have sustained serious injuries were rushed to the hospital for treatment where they are still recuperating at the time of filing this report.
The 15 lawmakers who are loyal to the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole were not invited to the Monday night inauguration of the Assembly where 9 members met to elect Mr. Frank Okiye (Esan North East 1) as Speaker.
During the violent assault, the elected legislators who vowed to resist the emergence of Okiye, a Governor Godwin Obaseki loyalist, were severely beaten up by the goons who inflicted bodily harm on them.
According to an aide of one of the lawmakers who would not want his name in print, the attack which happened at a hotel in downtown Benin during a meeting by the lawmakers-elect saw both hotel staff and guests run for safety.
A close police source who was not authorised to speak on the issue said that a former deputy speaker, Mr. Victor Tiger Edoror led his colleagues to the police headquarters in Benin to make a report of the assault.
Some of Edoror’s aides who accompanied him to the State Criminal Investigative Department were seen talking in low tone yesternight as he wrote a statement.
Efforts to reach the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. DanMallam Mohammed proved abortive as his mobile phone was engaged as of the time of filing this report