The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have traded blames on the shooting incident at the Edo Governorship Election Tribunal in Benin, on Wednesday.
A statement by the APC Chairman in Edo, Jarret Tenebe, described the incident as “deeply disturbing and unacceptable act of violence that undermined the sanctity of the judicial process”.
Tenebe accused supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of carrying out what he described as the dastardly act.
Some gunmen suspected to be political thugs disrupted proceeding of the tribunal shouting “give us our mandate” while shooting sporadically.
The shooting caused panic with lawyers, members of the tribunal and others at the proceedings fleeing for safety.
Tenebe, in the statement, described the tribunal as a sacred space where justice was meant to be administered impartially.
“Any act of violence within its walls undermines the very foundation of our legal system and threatens the safety of all involved.
“Regardless of political affiliation, resorting to violence to resolve disputes is never justifiable.
“We must all condemn such actions in the strongest possible terms.
“Violence has no place in a civilised society and those responsible for this heinous act must be brought to justice swiftly and without exception,” the chairman said.
However, in a counter-statement, the PDP in the state disassociated itself from the shooting incident.
The PDP chairman, Dr Tony Aziegbemi, described the incident as yet another in the series of clandestine efforts by the APC to frustrate the legal process and tarnish the image of the opposition party.
“The APC in Edo, who are clearly scared of justice, have continued their devious ploy to frustrate our party from reclaiming the mandate duly given to us by the good people of Edo in the last governorship election at the tribunal.
“They have now resorted to deploying thugs disguised in PDP-branded attire to disrupt the legal process, while pointing accusing fingers at our party,” Aziegbemi said.
