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The Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly condemned the reign of violence visited on members of the party by hoodlums sponsored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ikire, Irewole local government area, warning that the PDP will resist any attempt by the erstwhile ruling party in the state to throw Osun in chaos.
The PDP in a statement signed by its Caretaker Chairman, Dr Akindele Adekunle on Wednesday, described as ugly and unacceptable the resort to violence as a tool to pursue power in a democrary, vowing to take every legal steps to get justice for member of the party murdered by the APC thugs.
Dr Akindele called on security agents to immediately arrest the APC candidate for Irewole/Isokan State Constituency, Bisi Oyegbade Ilu for spearheading the violent attacks on PDP members, urging members to be calm and not to take law into their hands.
"What happened in Ikire, Irewole local government area, where political thugs such as Akin Alabi (Ojuyobo), Saheed SP, Baloo, Yemit, Remi Abass, NOA, among others, acting on the instruction of the APC candidate for that Constituency, Bisi Oyegbade Ilu, descended on PDP members violently to the point of killing two of our members dead, was no longer politics but criminality," the statement noted.
"This despicable act is a vindication of our consistent alarm on the APC proclivity for violence and an orchestrated plan to throw Osun into chaos.
"The political thugs had waylaid the campaign train of our Senatorial candidate, Dr Lere Oyewumi at Olorisaoko in Ikire town while returning from visitation tour of PDP members in ward 1,7 8 and 9, injuring no fewer than eight members of our party. Not done, the APC thugs presumably acting on the directive of their master, Bisi Oyegbade Ilu, mobilized to homes of PDP members in Ikire in the dead of the night to launch an assault on them, and as a result, shot dead two of our members with many others suffering various forms of injuries and receiving treatments at the hospital.
"This is very bad and unacceptable to us, but as a law abiding party, we want to charge security agents to get to work and ensure the safety of lives and properties of our members in Ikire as well as every part of Osun. Also, we want to urge the security agents to go after the criminal elements using politics as a cover for criminality, most especially their backers, who is identified as the APC candidate for the Constituency.
"We want to appeal to our members in Ikire to be calm and be rest assured that we will do everything to get justice over this failed attempt to scare PDP members and supporters from the upcoming election."
Signed:
Dr Akindele Adekunle,
Caretaker Chairman, Osun PDP