Edo state government has dismissed thepolice interim report on the investigation into the fatal auto crash involvingthe state governor’s convoy in which three journalists were killed as havingfailed to carry out thorough investigation on the fatal crash.
Addressing newsmen in Benin City yesterday,the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Osagie Obayuwana,said the police did not verify the authenticity of the claim that the truckdriver and the owner of the truck are card carrying members of the ActionCongress of Nigeria (ACN).
“The police never asked for their ACNmembership cards as proof to put the matter to rest”, he said.
He also questioned the shoddy handling ofinvestigation of one Thomas Orivboje believed to be a card carrying member ofthe PDP who publicly confessed that “Oshiomhole escaped this time, he won’t bethat lucky next time”.
Obayuwana faulted the leakage of theinterim report to the PDP national headquarters by the police before the duplicatecopy of the case file got to his office whose responsibility it is to prosecute.
“I wish to place on record that it wasafter Oliseh Metuh’s publication in the newspapers that I personally went tothe police headquarters in Benin from where the investigating team operated, todemand for the file”, he noted.
“The gloating of Metuh flows from anapparent focus of the investigating teamon the question of the party membership of those who may have had a hand in theattempt on Gov. Oshiomhole’s life which claimed the precious lives of otherpersons”, Obayuwana added.
The Attorney-General raised some posers: “Whydid the investigating team not take a statement from Governor Oshiomhole? Whydid the claimed ‘positive analysis’ of the suspects call log not with the casefile sent to my office? If the investigation was no complete why did theyrecommend that the truck be released to the owner? Was this intended tofrustrate further investigation? Who leaked the interim report to the PDPnational headquarters? Was it also intended to foreclose further investigation?Is the PDP national publicity secretary the right person to make the reportpublic?” He queried.
It would be recalled that threejournalists: Olatunji Jacob, George Okosun both of Independent Television,Benin City and Fidelis Okhani of AIT died in the crash on Saturday, April 28when a truck suddenly veered off its course on the Afuze-Auchi road and crashedinto the Governor’s convoy, missing the staff car conveying the Governor by thewhiskers.
