Police to probe viral video of shooting near Edo election tribunal venue

The Edo police command says it will investigate the viral video showing a shooting incident near the venue of the state’s governorship election tribunal.

In a series of videos posted on social media on Wednesday, a man dressed in a white shirt, brown shorts, and a white face cap, with a black nose mark, was seen shooting a locally made gun into the air while shouting, “you must give us our mandate”.

The shooting caused panic, with lawyers, tribunal members, and attendees reportedly fleeing for safety.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have since been trading blame over the incident.

But in a statement on Thursday, Moses Yamu, the police spokesperson in Edo, claimed that no shooting incident occurred at the high court on January 15, when the tribunal was sitting.

Yamu noted that the command had deployed adequate security measures to ensure that there was no breakdown of law and order.

“The attention of the Edo state police command has been drawn to a viral video of a weapon-bearing young man firing shots in the air and later zooming off in an unmarked white Hilux vehicle to a yet-to-be-identified location in Edo state,” the statement reads.

“However, the command categorically states that no shooting incident occurred at the high court on 15/01/2025, during the election tribunal sitting, as adequate security measures were deployed to ensure that there was no breakdown of law and order.

“Nevertheless, the commissioner of police, CP Umoru P. Ozigi, psc, mnips, has ordered an investigation into the incident, with a view to unraveling the identity and location and of the young man in the viral video for prosecution.”