Lawyers, litigants, politicians, and reporters scrambled for safety to avoid being hit by stray bullets.
However, swift intervention by fully armed security operatives restored calm, allowing the tribunal to continue at the Edo High Court Complex on Sapele Road, Benin.
Edo APC Chairman Jarret Tenebe condemned the incident, describing the shootings as deeply disturbing and unacceptable.
Tenebe said:
Edo, chairman of APC, also stated that violence had no place in a civilised society while declaring that the people who were responsible for the heinous act must be brought to justice swiftly and without exception.
The former representative of Edo Central Senatorial District, Senator Monday Okpebholo of the APC, won the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo and was inaugurated on November 12 last year.
Seven of the 18 political parties that participated in the election and filed petitions at the tribunal were the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Action Democratic Party (ADP), Accord (A), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and Action Alliance (AA), which wanted their candidates to be declared the winner of the keenly contested poll.
The PDP and its governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, rejected the election outcome, accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of fraud, and called for the cancellation of the electoral process.
However, the electoral umpire went ahead with the proceeds and declared Okpebholo of the APC as the authentic winner. He was subsequently declared sworn in and the PDP had been playing the opposition role in the state.
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had referred to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, as his master while commending him for the developmental projects when he was the governor of Rivers State.
The Edo state governor noted that Wike has taken his developmental strike from Rivers to Abuja, praising him for the developmental projects as the FCT minister and adding that Wike now has the same impact on governance in his state.
Governor Okpebholo made the comment while speaking at the New Year luncheon hosted by the FCT minister in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, on Friday, January 3. The event was attended by top APC leaders and political officeholders, including Adams Oshiomhole, the senator representing Edo North.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
