The immediate past commissioner for works and transport in Osun, Engr Oluremi Omowaiye, was yesterday attacked in Ilesha, his home town, by yet-to-be-identified hoodlums.
In a Facebook post shared by Omowaiye’s personal assistant, Yakub Atanda, who was equally caught up in the melee, the former commissioner had visited a popular spare parts market in Isida to as part of his yuletide celebration.
He was said to be in the market to hand marketers his Christmas gifts of Cow and bags of rice.
“Everything was going smoothly,” said Atanda, “before some hoodlums surfaced from nowhere to hurl bottles, stones and other dangerous objects at our entourage. They shot sporadically at us.”
While Omowaiye was lucky to have escaped the scene unscathed, many members of his entourage and mobilisers of the All Progressives Congress in Ilesha present at the event, were not that lucky as they were injured seriously by the dangerous weapons targeted at them.
The APC Youth Leader in Ilesha West Ward 3, Opeyemi One, Tosin Adanlawo, Ojo Agboola and Junior Olaojaoke were some of the members of Omowaiye’s entourage attacked and are currently receiving treatment for various degrees of wounds.
Speaking to journalists after the incident, Omowaiye said, ” I have many reasons to believe those unhappy I am still around in the state to galvanise support for our party are the characters behind the assassination attempt on my person. They have been on my trail for months. They reason that when I and other leaders of the party are taken out or sent out of the state, our rank will fall apart and they would have an edge in the next year’s elections. We are resolute: we won’t leave the state for them. We will continue to mobilise for our party so we can truimph at the poll. Asiwaju Tinubu is the next president of Nigeria, by God’s grace and our principal shall get back the mandate freely given to him by our people. Our hope is on God and the good people of Osun State who we served meritoriously and would want our party back in government in the state.”
Confirming the attack, Public Relations Officer of Osun Police Command, SP Yemisi Opalola said the Police Commissioner has visited Ilesa this morning and that arrests have been made.
She said the parties and suspects arrested involved have been brought to the State headquarters in Osogbo for thorough investigation into the attack.
She assured residents of Ilesa of police protection, calling on them to go about their normal businesses.
In the meantime, the Osun State Coordinator of #VoteNotFight campaign, Mr Jare Tiamiyu has condemned the politically-motivated clash in Ilesa.
Tiamiyu, who is the Director of Insight Initiatives for Community and Social Development, described the attack as a return of old ways by politicians. He called on police to immediately investigate the attack and bring perpetrators to book.
“Osun governorship election went peacefully. But the spade of attacks in the four local government areas of Ijesha south federal constituency in the last few days calls for concern. It’s looking like the political actors in that zone are returning to the old ways of causing violence to instill fears in the minds of electorates ahead of the 2023 general elections.
“While we call on the police commissioner, Kehinde Longe to immediately investigate this latest attack and ensure perpetrators are brought to book, we equally call on stakeholders to eschew violence and disruption of peaceful atmosphere in the area.” Tiamiyu said.
