Less than a month to the governorship election in Ondo state, one person has been killed while many others were injured during a bloody clash between supporters of the ruling All Progressive Congress APC and the Zenith Labour Party ZLP in ldanre area of the state.
The deceased identified as Taye was a member of the Zenith Labour Party in the town.
Reports had it that the ugly incident occurred on Wednesday evening at Alade ldanre.
A source said that the deceased who was putting on the ZLP face cap was allegedly attacked by the supporters of the APC for putting on the cap in the town.
The deceased was allegedly challenged by the supporters of the ruling party and while he was explaining a fight ensued and he was reportedly macheted to death.
A leader of the ZLP in the town alleged that those who attacked and killed Taye were led by one Sunday Ogundiroyo, A.K.A (Agarahu), Bola Akinniranye and others.
It was gathered that the death of the ZLP member led to demonstrations by other members of his party while the activities at the popular Alade Regional Market was disrupted for hours as market women ran helter sketter
They demonstrated on motorcycles along the Alade Idanre / Odode Idanre road and errected a barricade on the road leading to Odode ldanre.
Consequently, meetings to douse the political tension and stop inter-party clashes were held by stakeholders in the town.
The leaders in the town pleaded that the electoral violence be stopped forthwith
Meanwhile, the remains of the deceased had been deposited at the morgue, General Hospital, Alade Idanre, Ondo State.
The Director-General of the ZLP governorship candidate campaign organization, Dr Kola Ademujimi confirmed the murder and pleaded with the police to bring to book the perpetrator of the heinous act.
The Publicity Secretary of the ruling APC in the state, Alex Kalejaye said that the party don’t condone thuggery
Kalejaye said ” the All Progressives Congress, APC, will neither promote violence nor endure thuggery.
He called on the police to investigate the ugly incident and expose the perpetrators.
Contacted, the police spokesperson in the state Teo Leo lkoro confirmed the death following political violence in the ancient town.
Ikoro said that the situation in the town has been brought under control and that peace had returned to the troubled town.
He said no arrest had been made but that police investigations into the bloody attack were ongoing.
Recall that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in the town had last week petitioned the Inspector General of Police IGP Mohammed Adamu over the various attack by political thugs sympathetic to the ruling party in the state.
The PDP in ldanre in the petition through their counsel, Leye Akintugbobo esq called for the investigation, arrest and prosecution of the culprits
The petition was entitled “Violence: Idanre PDP petitions IGP, urges arrest of APC hoodlums”
In the petition dated August 26, the petitioners, detailed series of grievous assaults occasioning grievous bodily harm on their members by the said hoodlums, with gory pictures affixed as evidences
According to them, “few days before the last local government elections conducted by Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) on Saturday, 22nd day of August, 2020, in PDP did not participate, the hoodlums and their cohorts laid siege on Idanre residents particularly members of the opposition parties.
“They terrorized innocent law-abiding citizens both day and night even as they wielded in broad daylight dangerous weapons which include but not limited to well-sharpened cutlasses, sophisticated guns, cudgels, pick-axes etc thereby disrupting the relative peace hitherto enjoyed by Idanre community.
” The above-named persons and their minions violently assaulted some members of the community particularly members of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) with intent to maim and kill them as they mercilessly inflicted deep machete wounds on them. Find attached pictures of the gory act of the above-named persons and their ilk.
“With due respect sir, all these atrocities were perpetrated under the watch of Idanre Divisional Police officers as they helplessly looked the other side while the above-named persons were unleashing violence on perceived political opponents and innocent but law abiding citizens.”
The petitioners recalled that on 4th January, 2017 the said hoodlums with their deadly strike force attacked members of PDP when they were preparing for their new year get together party in Idanre inspite of the fact that required permits had been obtained from authorities of the police, the DSS, the NSCDC and the Local Government.
According to them, the then party chairman was mercilessly beaten and assaulted to a state of coma and many party members sustained various degrees of injuries, all the delicacies prepared with two cows were carted away, with the estimated material loss by PDP members on that occasion being in excess of N3 million.
The petitioners added that the hoodlums in question often hid under the power of incumbency to perpetrate obnoxious and nefarious crimes with impunity.
They alleged that between August 13 and August 20 this year, the hoodlums various attacked members of the PDP in Idanre Local Government to wit: Mr. Sunday Akinlalu (who was attacked by Mr. Monday Anthony aka Monday Ogoja), Mr. Folorunso Saliu (who was attacked by Sunday Sebe) and Mr. Akinnayajo Akinola (who was attacked by Mr. Sunday Sebe).”
“The above-named persons and their cohorts keep boasting that they have the backing of Ondo State Government to kill and maim members of the opposition parties and innocent but law-abiding citizens before, during and after the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo State as they vowed to make the community unbearable for any member of the opposing political parties particularly PDP.
“This is more worrisome taking into account the leaked videotape of Mr. D. I. Kekemeke a stalwart of APC that is currently trending on the internet where he deliberately exposed the criminal intension of APC to rig the forthcoming gubernatorial election with horrible violence. PDP and its members in Idanre Local Government Area love peace but not at the expense of losing their dear lives without lifting a finger as life has no duplicate hence the need for this petition,” they said.
The petition, Idanre PDP said, was to serve as security alert with the singular purpose of putting the police and other security operatives concerned on alert with a view to take proactive measures to nip in the bud any attempt by the above-named persons or whosoever to cause breach of peace without minding whose ox is gored.
Vanguard
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