The Edo State Police Command has said that the arrested chairman of Esan West Local Government, Hon. Collins Aigbogun, was on the police wanted list.
DAILY POST reports that the State Commissioner of Police, Nemi Edwin-Iwo, disclosed this while addressing newsmen during a protest by the state leadership of the Association of Local Government Chairmen of Nigeria (ALGON) over the arrest and detention of the chairman.
DAILY POST recalls that the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had petitioned the Inspector General of Police over political violence that erupted in Illeh community in Esan West Local Government Area.
The party fingered the council boss as responsible for the alleged violent attack on one Imoisili Inegbedion and Alfred Onofua at Ward 10, Illeh community in Ekpoma by political thugs suspected to be sponsored by him.
The party also alleged that the council chairman physically led political thugs to one Madam Dorothy’s shop to disrupt the meeting and, in the process, destroyed the APC’s governorship candidate, Senator Okpebholo’s mobile public address vehicle and branded campaign bus.
It further added that Madam Dorothy, drivers of the vehicles, and other APC members and leaders such as Oigah Lawrence and Onofua Alfred sustained various degrees of injury.
Briefing the press, the Police Commissioner said the council boss was brought to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the command in Benin by the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area upon police invitation.
According to him, upon arriving at the office of the CID, it was discovered that the local government chairman had earlier been wanted by the police over other alleged criminal charges.
“Yes, he was invited and he reported himself to the police, and we later discovered that he had other criminal charges against him.
“Basically, what happened was that he brutalized somebody in the course of altercations between himself and other party members.
“He was invited and the DPO in the area brought him to the State CID, where it was discovered that he had other charges against him before now.
“Our men from FID came and said that the man had earlier been wanted, and there was now a need for them to take him along so that they can investigate his matter.
“That was how he was moved to Abuja. The whole thing is being investigated, and I hope that at the end of the day, if there is anything against him, he will be brought back to Benin,” he said.
While speaking on the forthcoming governorship election, the commissioner assured that the command would create an environment for a free, fair, and credible election.
Edwin-Iwo opined that the enabling environment would allow voters to walk freely without any molestation or intimidation.
He, however, added that in line with the INEC electoral guidelines, non-state actors are not supposed to carry arms and would not be part of the electoral process.
“So, all that we are doing now before the election is to make sure that we clear all illegal arms as much as we can. The operation is ongoing, and I have operatives virtually in all the local government areas now,” he added.