Two killed as exercise turns bloody in Ondo
From Tosin Tope; Sunny Nwankwo, Umuahia; From Uja Emmanuel; Victor Gai, Jalingo; Ahmed Baba Ahmed; Adekunle Jimoh; Duku Joel; Elekwachi Chinedum; Ahmed Rufa’I; Rosemary Nwisi; Elo Edremoda and Osagie Otabor;
From Tosin Tope; Sunny Nwankwo, Umuahia; From Uja Emmanuel; Victor Gai, Jalingo; Ahmed Baba Ahmed; Adekunle Jimoh;
Duku Joel; Elekwachi Chinedum; Ahmed Rufa’I; Rosemary Nwisi; Elo Edremoda and Osagie Otabor; AbdulGafar Alabelewe,
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Ward Congress held in Ondo State turned bloody on Wednesday as violent clashes and sporadic gunshots reportedly left no fewer than two persons dead and several others injured.
The exercise, expected to produce ward executives across the 203 wards of the state, was disrupted in the Idanre Local Government Area of the state by political thugs allegedly working for members of the National Union of Roads Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state.
Two persons were reportedly killed while a younger brother to the party’s chairman, Ade Adetimehin, identified as Mr. Raphael Adetimehin, was fatally injured and violently attacked during the clash.
The younger Adetimehin is currently in a coma at a private hospital.
The Nation reports that the armed thugs, who came into the local government in about “six fully-loaded vehicles,” invaded the venue of the congress close to the party’s local government secretariat and chased away party members including officials overseeing the process.
Eyewitnesses said tension heightened when rival groups allegedly clashed over the control of delegates’ lists and ward executives, resulting in fisticuffs that later escalated into gunfire by the political thugs.
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However, the violence was more intense in a few wards on the outskirts of the state capital, especially at Iju/Ita Ogbolu in the Akure North Local Government Area, where skirmishes, fights, and hoodlums reportedly disrupted the exercise for hours.
It was learnt that security operatives, led by the Commissioner of Police, CP Lawal Adebowale and the Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Oluyemi Ibiloye, personally led a combined tactical team, to restore order, peace and disperse the attackers.
Spokesman for the state police command, DSP Jimoh Abayomi, confirmed that five persons were attacked and sustained various degrees of injuries while a car was set ablaze during the violent attack.
Abayomi further disclosed that two of the victims are dead and their corpses deposited at the hospital’s morgue.
In his reaction, the State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa said, the violence and disruption of the stakeholders’ meeting in Akure were caused by “miscreants” loyal to aspirants in the state.
The Governor vowed to ensure those who do anything against the law will be apprehended and prosecuted.
