Ahead of the Wednesday ward congress of the All Progressive Congress in Ondo state, armed political thugs have invaded and disrupted the stakeholders meeting, attacking and injuring party leaders including the state party chairman, Engineer Ade Adetimehin.
The stakeholders meeting was held at the party’s Secretariat in Akure, the state capital.
Reports had it that the sponsored thugs arrived the venue of the meeting with dangerous weapons and attacked the party leaders.
The state party chairman and other party leaders were attacked and dragged by the thugs while the meeting was ongoing.
Others leaders of the party attacked at the meeting, include,Ademola ljabiyi, Saka Yusuf, Otito Atikase, Muyiwa Asagunla, Akin Sowore, Rasheed Badmus ,Yetunde Adeyanju ,Sola Ajisafe, Dr Koka Ademujimi and Chief Bode Sunmonu.
Speaking with newsmen, the party’s Chairman, who expressed surprise over the incident said that the thugs dragged him on the floor from the conference hall of the meeting to the ground floor of the party Secretariat.
According to Adetimehin ,” l was the target of the attack, they were all shouting my name as they entered the hall, they beat me blue black before dragging me on the floor.
The chairman said that his two handsets, wristwatch and the sum of N210,000 were forcibly removed from his pocket by the political thugs.
He explained that his driver who tried to secure his release was beaten to coma and was resuscitated at a private hospital.
Adetimehin said “Around this time yesterday, the Congress committee came all the way from Abuja. They met us at the party secretariat, about 13 of them.
“We had a meeting with them, those of us in attendance, my humble self, Organising Secretary, the Special Adviser to Mr. Governor on political and legislative matters.
“We were in the secretariat for close to two hours, where the Chairman of the committee told us to hold a stakeholder today, and that I should call a stakeholder today.
He added that ” We both agreed to hold the meeting by 12 noon. Then we sent the message out to all of the party stakeholders to attend.
“I called the Chairman of the committee to send out a text for the meeting and we agreed to meet by 12.30pm. By 12 noon, the hall was filled to capacity.
According to him ” l called the state governor, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to inform him about the development and we both agreed.
“I told him that after the meeting, myself and the committee would visit him to meet him, because it is their duty to tell us the modality for the Congress and how we are going to do the Congress.
“After speaking with him, I told him that I heard from the grapevine that some people are mobilising to the secretariat to destroy the meeting.
“He said no that such a thing cannot happen under his watch, that he will take charge and will not allow violence in the state and promised to caution anybody behind it.
” But to my surprise, some 30 minutes later, the place was invaded by thugs, with cutlasses, guns.They beat hell out of all leaders and members, except those who are for them.
“They dragged me on the floor, I didn’t bother, they took away my two phones from my pocket, with my wristwatch.
“All they are saying is that they will kill and they were shooting periodically, many of our members were in the hospital for treatment.
“When they knew they could not harm me, they went for my driver and beat him seriously. A lot of people were wounded.The demand they were making when they came was that they don’t want Congress.”
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