IT was a tale of sorrow, tears and blood, weekend, as
supporters of the Labour Party, LP, and All Progressive Congress, APC, engaged
one another in a bloody clash in Ikere Ekiti, when the LP organised a mega
rally to drum support for its governorship candidate, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele.
In the melee that ensued, one person was shot and several cars damaged, while no fewer than 28 persons have been arrested by the police. Dangerous weapons like guns, machetes, broken bottles were freely used and miscreants looted properties worth millions of Naira
Three crew members of African Independent Television, AIT, who came to cover the event, were attacked, while two out of their V-sat cameras, were reportedly stolen.
Narrating the ordeal, Bamidele’s media aide, Mr Ahmed Salami, claimed APC members were the aggressors.
Salami explained that the programme had almost came to an end and the Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and the National Chairman of the party, Dan Nwanyanwu had left for the palace of Ogoga of Ikere Ekiti, Oba Samuel Adegboye when some APC members drove a bus to the venue of the rally with the motive of disrupting the programme.
His words: “Dr Mimiko and members of our party had already wrapped up the rally when thugs numbering 30 invaded the venue. They knew that the police had left the venue and our people had no protection. They shot into the air sporadically and many of our members had to run into the bush after many had been macheted and beaten by APC thugs”.
He noted that men attached to the Ikere Divisional Police Station were watching unconcerned as the thugs had a field day.
KFCO faults LP
However, the Director of Media, Kayode Fayemi Campaign organisation, Mr Dimeji Daniels, has faulted the claim of LP .
According to him, the LP members were just attacking members of APC going on the street, alleging that they did not stop there but went to the party’s secretariat at Ikere and set the furniture ablaze.
Daniels maintained that a member of APC was now in a critical condition at Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti as a result of the gunshot attack he sustained during the mayhem.
He said the APC could not have been responsible for the attack because the party was holding a meeting when the incident happened.
We’ve made arrests—Police
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Victor Babayemi, who confirmed the incident, said his men had recovered the vehicle that conveyed the thugs to the venue and were already on the trail of the occupants of the bus.
Babayemi said: “It was an APC branded vehicle and it is now in our custody. We also recovered four expended cartridges at the scene of the incident. We are happy that some of the perpetrators were known and their names are already with us and that will help our investigation”.
The PPRO said that the leadership of the APC in Ikere Ekiti would be summoned by the police to disclose the identities of the occupants of the vehicle.
APC is full of pretenders —Mimiko, Bamidele
Meanwhile, Governor Mimiko and Bamidele have described the leaders of the APC as bunch of pretenders, who are being hypocritical with progressive politicking.
In the melee that ensued, one person was shot and several cars damaged, while no fewer than 28 persons have been arrested by the police. Dangerous weapons like guns, machetes, broken bottles were freely used and miscreants looted properties worth millions of Naira
Three crew members of African Independent Television, AIT, who came to cover the event, were attacked, while two out of their V-sat cameras, were reportedly stolen.
Narrating the ordeal, Bamidele’s media aide, Mr Ahmed Salami, claimed APC members were the aggressors.
Salami explained that the programme had almost came to an end and the Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and the National Chairman of the party, Dan Nwanyanwu had left for the palace of Ogoga of Ikere Ekiti, Oba Samuel Adegboye when some APC members drove a bus to the venue of the rally with the motive of disrupting the programme.
His words: “Dr Mimiko and members of our party had already wrapped up the rally when thugs numbering 30 invaded the venue. They knew that the police had left the venue and our people had no protection. They shot into the air sporadically and many of our members had to run into the bush after many had been macheted and beaten by APC thugs”.
He noted that men attached to the Ikere Divisional Police Station were watching unconcerned as the thugs had a field day.
KFCO faults LP
However, the Director of Media, Kayode Fayemi Campaign organisation, Mr Dimeji Daniels, has faulted the claim of LP .
According to him, the LP members were just attacking members of APC going on the street, alleging that they did not stop there but went to the party’s secretariat at Ikere and set the furniture ablaze.
Daniels maintained that a member of APC was now in a critical condition at Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti as a result of the gunshot attack he sustained during the mayhem.
He said the APC could not have been responsible for the attack because the party was holding a meeting when the incident happened.
We’ve made arrests—Police
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Victor Babayemi, who confirmed the incident, said his men had recovered the vehicle that conveyed the thugs to the venue and were already on the trail of the occupants of the bus.
Babayemi said: “It was an APC branded vehicle and it is now in our custody. We also recovered four expended cartridges at the scene of the incident. We are happy that some of the perpetrators were known and their names are already with us and that will help our investigation”.
The PPRO said that the leadership of the APC in Ikere Ekiti would be summoned by the police to disclose the identities of the occupants of the vehicle.
APC is full of pretenders —Mimiko, Bamidele
Meanwhile, Governor Mimiko and Bamidele have described the leaders of the APC as bunch of pretenders, who are being hypocritical with progressive politicking.
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