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The Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti Central Senatorial zone, Gbenga Olofin, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Abba Sulaiman, over weekend attack on his campaign convoy by suspected thugs allegedly working for Governor Ayodele Fayose.
APC Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, said in a statement that in Olofin’s petition copied to the Commissioner of Police, Taiwo Lakanu, National Human Rights Commission and State Director of DSS, he alleged that the attack was carried out by suspected thugs working for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who built road blocks to waylay his campaign convoy at Afao-Ekiti, Fayose’s home town, after a rally in Igbemo-Ekiti. They attacked his party members and supporters.
The APC candidate explained that the policemen on routine security patrol cleared the roadblocks mounted by PDP thugs, but in anger, the governor allegedly ordered the arrest of his personal security aides. He added that they were being detained at the police headquarters for onward transfer to Abuja.
Those identified as allegedly participating in the attack included one Bashir Musa Ajagbemokeferi, Tosin alias Tosco, Folorunso, Niran, Ropo Akosile, and Dada Fagbolagun, among others.
He noted that strings of violence allegedly orchestrated by members and thugs of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) were also reported in the state at the weekend, as thugs allegedly loyal to Fayose Sunday morning shot sporadically to the air where APC members had gathered at Ajepe area of Omisanjana in the state capital, destroying their vehicles while the musical instruments of a popular musician, Sese Alhaji, who was entertaining APC members there, were destroyed.
He said that in the morning attack, APC’s candidate for the House of Assembly for Ado Ekiti Constituency Two, Sola Fatoba, had his vehicle damaged by the thugs. He escaped death by the whiskers.
His campaign vehicles were badly damaged and bullet pellets littered the scene after the dust settled.
Elsewhere in Aramoko-Ekiti, APC members were attacked, but curiously, it was those who were attacked that were later arrested by the police.
Attack on Olofin at the weekend followed recent attack by PDP thugs in Igede-Ekiti, his country home, where thugs suddenly emerged to disrupt his rally.
”Earlier on January 23, 2015 Fayose’s thugs between 2-2.30pm disrupted APC ward meetings in Iyin and Igede-Ekiti while they moved from house to house to inflict machete cuts on APC members. The thugs, who were in Mr. Fayose’s convoy, wore masks and shot sporadically in the two towns while destroying billboards and posters.
“In that incident, I narrowly escaped death in Igede-Ekiti when Fayose personally led thugs that invaded my home. This was reported in newspapers on January 25, 2015,” Olofin explained in the petition.
He added that during this incident, thugs, after unleashing mayhem on his supporters, allegedly went after petty traders and shop owners, looting their wares in an orgy of violence that temporarily shut down the capital of Irepodu/Ifelodun Local Government of the state.
Olofin also alleged that in a desperate bid to cause crisis in Ekiti State to enable him clamp down on the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Fayose fixed the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rallies for Monday through Wednesday, to coincide with APC ‘Walk For Change’ rally by APC vice presidential candidate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, which had earlier been approved to take place by the police.
This, he explained, was deliberately done to stoke violence and blame APC for it to enable the governor clamp down on the opposition leaders.
He called on the Inspector General of Police and Commissioner of Police to call the governor to order to allow democracy to flourish.
“I also call on the international community, especially election observers, to beam their searchlight on Fayose and call him to order to avoid violent clash that could mar Saturday elections,” Olofin concluded.
Taiwo Olatubosun
State Publicity Secretary
March 23, 2015
