A pre-congress stakeholders’ meeting of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State turned violent on Tuesday as suspected thugs invaded the party secretariat in Akure, leaving many injured and the state chairman and a commissioner beaten.
The incident occurred less than 24 hours before the nationwide ward congress scheduled to be held across 203 wards in the state.
An eyewitness, Yetunde Adeyanju, said the attackers, armed with dangerous weapons, shouted that they were from Aiyedatiwa and claimed, “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 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.
The Commissioner for Information, Mr Idowu Ajanaku, however, denied any involvement of the governor, describing the allegation as “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.”
Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Abayomi Jimoh, said the situation 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.
