There was commotion in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital on Thursday as political thugs suspected to be loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) allegedly attacked the convoy of Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President of Nigeria leaving at least two supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) injured.
According to Post-Nigeria, the attack reportedly culminated in the life-threatening gunshots, which left many others allegedlyseriously injured, while running for their lives. Police sources revealed that the incident happened around Isale-Koko, Ilorin suburb.
In reaction to the development, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the gubernatorial candidate of the party in the state, released a statement sent to journalists by his Media Aide, Rafiu Ajakaye, and condemned “the brazen attack today, in Ilorin, on the convoy of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, by armed PDP thugs.”
Part of the statement read:
“The Vice President was at Isale Aluko suburb of Ilorin, on a door-to-door campaign, when some dare-devil gunmen opened fire at his convoy, which included thousands of APC members and supporters. In what is a reminiscence of the Offa robbery, this attack is the height of recklessness on the part of these street urchins, who have long been empowered and armed by the discredited dynasty to terrorise our community, and anyone who has contrary views to their amala politics.
“Coming just a day after two of our supporters were killed in Ojoku, in the convoy of our Senatorial Candidate, Architect Lola Ashiru, this is becoming too much, and the madness must stop. Going into an election with these thugs clearly on the loose, is an existential threat not just to all ofus challenging the misrule in our State, but to the entire people of the State and their properties. We call for immediate arrest and prosecution of these thugs. We also demand investigations to reveal those who gave the orders for these deadly attacks.
“We call for all measures to be taken to ensure safety of lives and properties, and sanctity of the ballot box in Kwara and beyond. No one’s political interest should be at the expense of human lives and their properties. We insist that a political contest is a contest of ideas and no one must be allowed to cow or kill others in the process.”
The Kwara Police Command, through the Public Relations Officer of the command, DSP Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the attack on Osinbajo.
He said the Vice President was not at the scene where the unknown gunmen shot at the mammoth APC supporters, who came out to hail the Prof. Osinbajo at Isale Aluko area in Ilorin and confirmed that two persons sustained gunshot injuries while others who ran for safety suffered various degrees of injuries.
Okasanmi said first information available to him has it that the attack was allegedly carried out by the PDP thugs in the state and said investigations into the matter had begun and promised that the police would unravel and bring those involved to justice.
Meanwhile, Kwara PDP, in a statement released by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Tunde Ashaolu, denied involvement of its members and supporters in the attack on the vice-president.
He, however, said that the incident was an intraparty affair involving members of the APC arising from the endless crisis confronting the party.
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P.S. There are no images from the attack available as at the time of this report.
Image Source: Twitter
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