Screen grab from a video where a man shot into the air near the Edo governorship election tribunal venue on January 15
In a statement issued on Friday, Mua’azu Bagudu, the tribunal secretary, said proceedings will now take place at the National Judicial Institute (NJI), airport road, Abuja.
“I am directed to notify all parties that the governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Benin City has been relocated to Abuja,” the statement reads.
The development comes days after gunshots disrupted one of the sittings of the tribunal.
On January 15, social media captured a man firing a locally made gun into the air, sparking panic as lawyers, tribunal members, and attendees scrambled for safety.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) traded blames over the incident.
Jarrett Tenebe, APC chairman in Edo, described the violence as a “deeply disturbing” and unacceptable act that undermined the sanctity of the judicial process.
Tenebe accused supporters of the PDP of carrying out the attack, claiming that the suspected thugs wore PDP-branded attires.
PDP has disassociated itself from the incident, with its state chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, accusing the APC of orchestrating the disruption to “frustrate the legal process and tarnish the image of the PDP”.
Asue Ighodalo, candidate of the PDP in the September 21 Edo governorship election, the declaration of Monday Okpebholo of the APC as winner of the vote.
