Election: Osun PDP House of Assembly candidate arrested

Ibokun, the headquarters of Obokun local government area of Osun state was Thursday evening enveloped with pandemonium when the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC), and the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accused each other of employing the services of soldiers and armed thugs to beat silly out of themselves.

The problem which tore the town apart led to the arrest of the PDP, candidate for today House Of Assembly election, Adewumi Adeyemi in the constituency by the police.

He was detained by the police after being mercilessly beaten by the men in uniform.

Scores of APC members also reportedly shared in the brutalisation exercise which lasted about three hours before the intervention of the law enforcement agents in the state.

As the PDP alleged that,it was the APC members that brought soldiers into the town to molest and suppress its members before the development snowballed into a real crisis,the APC members claimed that, the whole problem started when PDP members attacked them while returning from a campaign programme and laid siege at the office of member of Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Bosun Oyintiloye located in Ibokun who was contesting against the PDP candidate arrested and detained.

The PDP however described the claim as a ruse and untrue saying, it was the APC that first launched an attack on its members by throwing stones and other objects at them while returning from a programme in the evening of the day the crisis erupted before running to the following day.

Those beaten in the two political camps have been hospitalized in undisclosed hospitals in the town and its environs while the arrested PDP candidate for the state assembly election in the constituency is still being detained by the police as at the time of filing in this report

In a press conference held at the NUJ Correspondents’ Chapel in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, Hon. Oyintiloye claimed that, it was the candidate of PDP in the constituency, Arch. Adewunmi Adeyemi that led hoodlums to attack him and his supporters in his office.

According to him,” the attack was carried out with the intention to assassinate me and intimidate my supporters against tomorrow’s poll.”

“Some arrests had however been made by the police after reporting the incident at the police station, in which my opponent from the PDP, Adeyemi was apprehended while others were presently at large.”

“We were at my campaign office after series of meetings were held when armed PDP hoodlums, led by Arch. Adeyemi came in different directions and started shooting sporadically.

Also,the PDP spokesperson,Mrs Grace Olojede Omotosho in her reaction accused the members of APC of attacking her members, “in collusion with security operatives, including military personnel.”

“Every plea I made to Oyintiloye and APC members to stop the assault was discarded before the atmosphere later became charged and some of PDP members were whisked away by the police.

She further alleged that there was a covert move by the ruling APC to intimidate electorate in the constituency, having realised its waned popularity and acceptance.

” We were accosted at Hon. Oyintiloye’s office while returning from campaign ground at Ikinyinwa, as many of our members were seriously brutalised.

“Some of my members later mobilised and returned to the scene of the violence, but I personally appealed to them to be peaceful and not unnecessarily heat up the polity; I specifically begged Oyintiloye to caution his followers and maintain peace all to no avail.

” I was later attacked at my sister’s office in which my car was damaged in the process, while some of our members were arrested and presently detained, including our candidate for tomorrow’s election, arch. Adewunmi Adeyemi”, Omotosho submitted.