Two persons on Thursday reportedly sustained bullet injuries as a result of the exchange of gunfire between unidentified opposing thugs.
Trouble started at Benin Airport when Shaibu touched down in a private jet at about 1.18 pm to the waiting arms of hundreds of supporters who had been singing and dancing at the Airport following the Abuja High Court judgement which reinstated him as the deputy governor of the State.
Shaibu after a brief discussion with leaders of his support groups at the Arrival Hall came out to the dancing crowd, who cheered him amidst jubilation, as he mounted a motorcade.
The convoy was only approaching the airport gate when all hell was let loose as gunshots rained like a downpour.
The shots, audible inside the Airport Arrival Hall and along Airport Road near the Miracle Centre of the Church of God Mission, caused widespread panic. Businesses closed, and drivers abandoned their vehicles in a rush to escape.
It took the intervention of the Mobile Squad of the Nigeria Police to bring the situation under control. Meanwhile, several officers continued shooting to disperse the said attackers as they fled in a Toyota Sienna bus
The shooting occurred barely 24 hours after a Federal Court ordered the Inspector General of Police to restore the security detail of Philip Shaibu as Deputy Governor of Edo State, following the nullification of his impeachment.
Meanwhile, the deputy governor’s office, Marvellous Omobayo office located at Osadebey’s Avenue in the Government Reservation Area was taken over by members of the Edo Security Network on Thursday morning.
It was, however, not clear whether Marvellous Omobayo, who was appointed by Governor Godwin Obaseki to take over from Shaibu, was in the office at the time the ESSN men took over his office.