By Jane Uyi Orobosa
Following the loud outcry by Edo people over the indiscriminate arrest and unlawful detention of some members of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in the state ahead of the September 21 governorship election, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has given orders for the arraignment of the party supporters on trump up charges in a remote Magistrate Court in Abuja, it was learnt.
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has expressly made it clear that he was not and all Edo people were not in support of the patently biased position of the Nigerian Police Force, acting in cahoot with the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to intimidate and harass PDP members. And that as a consequence, may not be able to sign the Peace Accord, if those arrested and unlawfully detained for over two months now in an Abuja dungeon and the Local Government Chairman just taken in gestapo manner three days ago, are not released or in the alternative, charged to court in the area of jurisdiction where the alleged offences were committed, which Benin City.
As at the time of filling this report, it could not be ascertained the very location of the Court or the specific charges for which they were being held.
Tension had escalated following the barely disguised partisanship manner in which the police had continued to harass PDP members in the state, amply justifying the boasting of APC chieftains that the party would unleash the federal government might on the state to win the election that is just 9 days away.
In a related development, women in the thousands have staged a massive protest in Benin to decry and condemn the incessant Police harassment of Edo people in an uneven-handed manner as the polls draw near.