From Priscilla Ediare, Ado Ekiti
Asiwaju Segun Oni, the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), for the June 18 election in Ekiti State, has condemned the repeated attacks on members of his party and destruction of his campaign posters, allegedly by thugs of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), calling on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Alkali Baba, to promptly act and stop the ongoing brigandage so as to forestall total breakdown of law and order in the state.
Tension had been building up in the state since Oni emerged candidate of the SDP and appeared to be commanding an unexpectedly large number of followers.
It will be recalled that recently, Oni’s campaign trail was brutally attacked in Efon Local Government Area of the state.
Director of Media of the Segun Oni Campaign Organisation (SOCO), Jackson Adebayo, in a statement made available to journalists in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, said the latest attack on SDP posters and members occurred in Ikole Local Government Area and parts of Ado Ekiti, the state capital, particularly in Odo-Ado area of the town.
“We are making serious efforts to calm down supporters of the SDP. Nobody has a monopoly on violence.
“But as everyone is aware, our principal, Asiwaju Segun Oni, abhors violence. However, efforts to restrain those being attacked by APC-sponsored thugs from retaliating are getting to a breaking point.
“Only yesterday, APC thugs went on a rampage in Odo-Ado, defacing Segun Oni and SDP’s posters.
“They went about attacking joints where they suspected Oni and SDP’s loyalists were, harassing innocent people.
“It was God that spared the lives of our supporters in Ikole when gun-wielding APC thugs disrupted a mini-rally organised in honour of the SDP candidate by an Oni loyalist, Wande Durojaye, in Ward One of the local government.
“They were shooting sporadically to scare away the SDP crowd. We thank God for the ever-vigilant youths who helped in bringing the situation under control.
“We are appealing to the IGP to act swiftly now and stop the APC brigandage. Remember that we had warned of their plan to import thugs to the state to cause confusion before, during and after the election,” Adebayo said.
It will be recalled that SOCO had raised an alarm over alleged clandestine moves by the Governor Kayode Fayemi-led APC administration to destabilise the state ahead of the governorship election.
“Information at our disposal shows clearly that due to the fear of losing the election, some unscrupulous members of the APC have sold the evil plot to recruit bandits, cultists and some criminals with the intention of unleashing mayhem before, during and after the election.
“We are worried about the desperation of the APC, whose candidate is becoming very unpopular by the day, to adopt a win-at-all-cost approach, even if it means burning down the state,” SOCO had warned then.