The member representing Etsako West 1 state constituency of the Edo State Assembly, Hon RazakMomoh, was on Thursday night shot and seriously wounded by unknown gunmen, who attacked him along the busy Akenzua street in Benin City.
The incident, which took place at about 9.30pm, began after the lawmaker, who drove without his orderly and driver was hounded by gunmen in Benin.
Hon Razak, who was reluctant in obeying the orders of the gunmen to lie down, got shot on the left side of his abdomen in the process of arguing with the gunmen, who have since been at large.
The timely intervention of passersby, who saw the gunmen escaping, saved the life of the lawmaker, who was immediately taken to a nearby hospital for first aid attention from where he was referred to the Accident and Emergency Unit of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.
A Family source who spoke to journalists said the lawmaker was in a critical state but was responding to treatment having received the necessary attention from medical personnel on duty.
Reacting to the development an Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) chieftain, who incidentally is from the lawmaker’s constituency, Prince Suleiman Kadiri,? expressed shock at the incident calling on security agencies to wake up to their responsibility of safeguarding lives and property.
When contacted on phone, the Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Tony Airhuoyo, said he was attending a meeting.
The shooting of the lawmaker is coming on the heels of orgy of kidnappings, which has engulfed Edo State in the last one week just as a cab driver was shot to death.