The Asue-Ogie Campaign management council has called on the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to beef up security around public infrastructure and facilities across the state as the nationwide planned protest against the Federal Government gathers momentum.

DAILY POST reports that the proposed planned protest was scheduled to take place on August 1, 2024.

The Deputy Director-General, Media and Publicity, of the campaign management council, Olu Martins,

who made the call at a press briefing in Benin City, said the call was to forestall the breakdown of law and orders during the protest.

Martins alleged that the state government’s critical infrastructure and legacy projects would be targeted by suspected sponsored political hoodlums.

According to him: “We have credible information that the plan is to attack the Benin City Mall, the Edo Civil Service Secretariat Complex and a couple of other infrastructures. The plan is to destroy and burn the property.

“These infrastructures being targeted belong to the Edo people and not Governor Godwin Obaseki. We are bringing this to the notice of the Edo people and the media so that the security agencies can be on red alert. Everybody must be on red alert.

“Those facilities we talked about were built with taxpayers’ money and not with Obaseki’s money. Edo people need to know this. And we would not sit down and watch them destroy what we built with Edo people’s taxes.”

On his part, the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, said the planned attack on government facilities is a ploy by unscrupulous elements to get the federal government to declare a state of emergency in the state after the nationwide protest.

Nehikhare, who called on the Edo State Police Commissioner, Funsho Adegboye, said the thugs recruited to cause chaos in the state are known criminal elements walking freely in the state.

“We want the police to arrest the thugs. The police know those who are known thugs and who are capable of causing chaos in the state.

“The thugs are planning to cause violence and destroy critical infrastructure by taking advantage of the August 1, 2024, nationwide protest.

“We call on Police and security agencies to nip the impending attack on our freedom in the bud. We want the federal government to act quickly by arresting them for the crime they are plotting to commit,” he said.