A stakeholders’ meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State turned violent on Tuesday as thugs invaded the party secretariat in Akure, leaving many delegates injured and the state chairman and a commissioner beaten.
The attack happened less than twenty-four hours before the state’s 203 wards were to host a nationwide ward congress.
According to Yetunde Adeyanju, an eyewitness, the attackers, brandishing dangerous weapons, yelled that they were from Aiyedatiwa and asserted, “We don’t want congress in Ondo State. The governor is in charge. The governor is the leader of the state, and the governor is in charge.”
“Nobody can query the authority of the governor, and anybody who wants to talk about congress in Ondo State will be assassinated. If you talk about Congress in Ondo State, you will be assassinated.”
Another eyewitness confirmed that several party leaders, including the state chairman, Mr. Ade Adetimehin; a commissioner on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Mr. Otito Atikase; and the former commissioner for sports, Mr. Saka Yusuf-Ogunleye, were beaten. Those injured were rushed to hospitals for treatment.
Adetimehin corroborated the attack, alleging that the thugs were sponsored to disrupt the meeting.
“Thirty minutes later, the place was invaded by thugs with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons. They beat all leaders and members, except those who are for them.
“They beat me and dragged me on the floor; they took away my two phones, money, and wristwatch,” he said.
However, Mr. Idowu Ajanaku, the Commissioner for Information, rejected the governor’s involvement, calling the accusation “unfounded, false, and misleading.”
In a statement, he said, “The governor was neither aware of nor connected to the said meeting and could not have sanctioned any act of thuggery. His leadership reflects a strong aversion to violence and political intimidation in any form.”
Mr. Abayomi Jimoh, the state police public relations officer, confirmed the incident and stated that it had been brought under control.
“The police command received a distress call, and we immediately swung into action, deploying operatives to the APC state secretariat.
“Efforts of these operatives restored calmness to the area,” he said, adding that tactical teams had been deployed and investigations were ongoing.
