GOVERNOR Olusegun Mimiko’s campaign organization in Ondo State, the Mimiko Campaign Organization, is raising alarm over attacks perpetrated by thugs loyal to opposition parties in the state, saying the attacks were part of plans to eliminate leaders of the governor’s Labor Party.
The Organization raised the alarm in Akure on Wednesday, following fresh attacks on its members in the ancient city of Owo on Tuesday night.
Barely two weeks ago, a similar attack occurred in the same city city in which several Labor Party members supporters were shot and injured with machetes, while properties worth millions of naira were destroyed.
The Mimiko campaign also noted that the latest development had vindicated its numerous cries in the recent past that the opposition parties were out to foment trouble with a view to stampeding the electorate.
Four of the persons arrested for previous assault are still behind bars at the Olokuta Prison.
A member of the House of Representatives representing Owo/Ose Federal Constituency, Mr. Eni Omosule, the Chairman of the State Environmental Task Force, Mr. Gbenga Atiba and a Senior Special Assistant to the Ondo State Governor on Direct Labour Agency, Mrs Mobolaji Suara on Tuesday evening cheated death by whiskers when they were attacked by a combined team of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) thugs and those of the Action Congress of Nigeria at Uka area of Owo with guns, axes, cutlasses and clubs.
Mrs Suara was shot in the arm while Mr. Atiba was clubbed on the head after several bullets fired at him missed their targets. The member of the House of Representatives was however lucky as he escaped from his assailants who chased him into a bush having damaged his car.
Mr Atiba who spoke on his hospital bed at a private hospital in Akure described the incident as sad and a pointer to the fact that the oppositions in the State were hell bent on killing and provoking violence in order to win the October Election at all cost.
He described the two pronged attacks from both the ACN and the PDP as unprovoked and well coordinated to stampede the ruling LP into irrational reprisal to give room for them to be able to use their arsenal given the number of sophisticated guns he saw with the thugs during the attack.
“We were attacked by thugs coordinated by Mr Femi Adekanbi of the ACN and those of the PDP under the tutelage of Chief Oyewole Fasawe. Indeed, we were able to identify some of the heavily armed thugs who attacked us having destroyed LP properties in the town on their way from their parties’ rallies in Akure and Ikare respectively. They were led by Femi Adekanbi, Fatai Oladugba, kehinde Ajanaku, Aliu Aralepo, Ayo Igboroko among others and they destroyed our vehicle beyond repair. It was only God that saved us. They shot Mrs Suara on the arm and she had to be taken to the hospital for the bullets to be extracted,” Atiba disclosed.
But the MCO in a release by its Director of Publicity and Media Relation described latest attack as part of the game plans of the opposition to clamp down on the top echelon of the LP by attacking them, maim and possibly kill them in their desperation to annex the State.
Says Olabisi: “Since it has become impossible for them to win this election in a free and fair situation, they have adopted this ‘strike the shepherd, scatter the sheep’ tactics of targeting senior members of our party for elimination as was the case in Edo State.
“But on our part, we are aware of this dastard and evil plans and that is why we have been strident in our cries to the security operatives and the whole nation that the oppositions in Ondo State have formed a common evil intention to collaborate in attacking our people to weaken us.
“We are calling on the security operatives to bring all the perpetrators of the series of violence in Owo to book to serve as deterrent to others and ensure the security of lives and property because only yesterday (Tuesday) the leaders of the ACN publicly lampooned the police for doing its jobs very well and vowed to unleash violence on us in their bid to capture Ondo state.
“While we have continued to prevail on our people to remain calm and not to be provoked into retaliating which was their intention, we wish tell them categorically that they should perish the thought of capturing Ondo State to their flagging empire. The people of Ondo state are resolved not to change a winning horse, Dr Olusegun Mimiko will win the October 20 election by a very comfortable margin and that is why they are desperate, bringing dangerous weapons into Ondo State and their thugs to maim and possibly kill. But God will stop them and expose their evil deeds ”