On Thursday, July 18, gunmen attacked the convoy of Edo State’s reinstated Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, in Benin City. This occurred just a day after a Federal High Court in Abuja reinstated Shaibu following his impeachment.

Shaibu had returned to Edo from Abuja on a chartered flight, accompanied by APC gubernatorial candidate Sen. Monday Okpebholo and others. Their convoy was ambushed on Airport Road by gunmen in a vehicle stationed at the airport’s exit gate. The attackers fired on the convoy, prompting a shootout with the armed security detail protecting Shaibu and Okpebholo.

Sen. Okpebholo was taken to an undisclosed hospital in Benin City, and his condition is currently unknown. The shooting caused shops and offices in the area to close abruptly, and many drivers abandoned their vehicles, seeking safety.

According to Mr. Godswill Inegbe, an aide to Okpebholo, the APC candidate was specifically targeted in the attack.

Inegbe said,

“During the unprovoked attack, three mobile policemen attached to the security detail of Sen. Okpebholo were injured with bullet wounds, while one of the policemen has been feared dead,”