The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised serious concerns about the impartiality of the police force in the run-up to the September 21 governorship election, accusing them of aligning with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Addressing journalists in Benin on Sunday, Edo PDP Chairman Tony Aziegbemi expressed the party’s unease over what he described as the police’s partisan conduct. “This is to express our concern about the disposition of the police ahead of the September 21 governorship election in the state,” Aziegbemi stated.
He elaborated on several incidents where police actions seemed to favour the APC, suggesting an alarming level of bias. “The party has witnessed instances where the police acted in a manner that suggested that they are a wing of the All Progressives Congress. The operatives’ actions and inactions at the state and national levels paint a picture that they are working for the APC.”
Aziegbemi highlighted a recent case involving Rev. Olu Martins, the Deputy Director of Media for the PDP Election Campaign Council, who was arrested by the police following a petition against him. Although Martins was granted bail after fulfilling the court’s conditions, Aziegbemi contrasted this with the inaction on a petition he filed against the APC state chairman. The petition, accompanied by video evidence, accused the APC chairman of inciting violence against Governor Godwin Obaseki, but it has so far elicited no response from the police.
“Surprisingly, no action has been taken on the matter since the petition was submitted unlike the swift manner in which the police responded to the petition against Martins,” Aziegbemi noted. He further claimed that a tactical police team had been deployed to harass and surveil 22 PDP members and leaders.
However, the Commissioner of Police in Edo State, Funsho Adegboye, dismissed the PDP’s allegations of bias. “Whatever observations or comments anybody has should be directed to Abuja,” Adegboye told our correspondent on Sunday.
As the governorship election approaches, the allegations of partisanship and the police’s response add to the tense political atmosphere in Edo State.
