There was uneasy calm as the Majority Leader, Edo State House of Assembly, Henry Okharuobo, was accused of engaging in what could be described as “an attempt to subvert justice” following his alleged invasion of a contested landed property in Aduwawa area of Benin city with suspected armed thugs.
The lawmaker allegedly invaded a contested landed property at night with armed thugs, who were in the area for several hours, shooting sporadically while residents ran for their lives as the thugs razed down crops on the land worth millions of naira after a Benin High Court restrained him from entering the said landed property belonging to Osaigbovo Uwangue and Barrister Smart Agbonlahor.
According to reports, trouble was said to have started when the state lawmaker approached the owners of the property to sell a portion of the land to him to enable him build a hotel since it was in a choice area of Aduwawa and they declined because they couldn’t reach an agreement.
The lawmaker, who was said to have been angered by the breakdown of transaction, was said to have threatened to use his influence and government powers to grab the land and unleash terror on the owners of the property.
Owing to his alleged threat and subsequent angered countenance to forcefully take over the property as an Edo lawmaker, the owners of the property approached a Benin High Court which restrained him (Hon Okharuobo) from trespassing on the said land pending determination of the case.
However in a twist of event, the majority leader was said to have written a petition to the Police Area Commander in charge of Ikpoba Hill Area Command, ACP Lawal Wale, alleging that the owners of the landed property forged their documents to take over his land.
It was alleged that all attempts to persuade the Area Commander that the allegation was false and that the issue was already pending before a competent court of jurisdiction failed as he was said to have hurriedly charged the said owners of the landed property at Ogbeson Magistrate Court.
