It Was
Assassination Attempt, Alleges State APC
A Police
officer, yesterday, accidentally shot a chieftain of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), Opeyemi Bamidele, and a yet to be identified person, at a
rally, as the party’s candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, began campaigns for the
July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State.
The rally,
which attracted large crowd of party supporters and admirers across the state,
started on a good note from Akure, the Ondo State capital, before it turned
bloody at the party’s secretariat in Ajilosun area of Ado Ekiti, the state
capital.
Ondo State
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, Fayemi and former minister of Works, Prince Dayo
Adeyeye, who were in a long convoy of vehicles, had gone up to greet party
leaders and were descending the staircase when the policeman suddenly released
several bullets ostensibly to ward off the surging crowd.
The
policeman involved in the shooting was allegedly trying to protect the
dignitaries from being mobbed by those who were trying to extort money from
them, when the shots hit Bamidele on the hand and the other victim in the
chest.
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It was
gathered that the mob had struggled with the policeman before he lost control
and shot sporadically in the wrong direction, but another source alleged the
policeman might have been drunk, as attempts had been made before the incident
to disarm him.
Bamidele was
hurriedly taken into the car conveying Akeredolu and taken to the hospital,
while the other victim fell on the ground, as crowd feared that he must have
died.
The angry
party men eventually succeeded in disarming the policeman, descending on him
and smashed his head with sticks and other objects before he was rescued and
taken into safe custody.
This
incident caused serious commotion at Mobil area, as residents scampered for
safety in different directions for fear of being hit by stray bullets.
In its
reaction, the APC in the state alleged that bloody politicking has returned to
Ekiti State, insisting that the incident was rather an assassination attempt on
Fayemi.
Fayemi, who
resigned his appointment on Wednesday as minister and was returning to the
state in a welcome party planned by the party
A statement
by the state Publicity Secretary
of the
party, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said: “It was a smooth ride from Akure Airport to
Ikere-Ekiti, where thousands of supporters came out to give him a rousing
welcome.
“Ikere-Ekiti
journey to Ado-Ekiti, a distance of about nine kilometres, lasted two hours in
a heavy traffic punctuated by four gunmen, suspected to be agents of the state
government, who strategically positioned themselves at the party’s secretariat
in Ado-Ekiti for the attack.
“One of the
assailants, dressed in mobile police uniform, was apprehended and he is now
helping the Police in their investigation.
They fired
gunshots aimed at Fayemi, but hit Bamidele, after the former minister had taken
a few steps forward before the bullets hit the target.
“Bamidele
and other victims were immediately rushed to the Ekiti State University
Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, where he is responding to treatment.
“Bamidele
was fatally wounded in the attack, while others also sustained various degrees
of injuries.
“Other
victims in the hospital included Olabode Joshua, Olanrewaju Gbenga, Adebayo
Ogunjemilehin, Ogunmodede Oluwole and Alex Adeleye.”
Fayemi and
his entourage were received in Ikere Ekiti by a long convoy of vehicles and
large crowd of party supporters, which caused traffic snarl along Ado-Akure
road.
Before the
incident, Akeredolu and Fayemi, while addressing party members, said the
candidate had come home to rescue Ekiti from the pangs of poverty and wanton
neglect caused by the outgoing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration.
Akeredolu
applauded party members for putting behind them, the post-primary crisis,
saying with the crowd he saw yesterday, Ekiti remains the stronghold of the
APC.
“Fayemi has
returned with full force to reclaim the land. He needs your support and this
task shall be achieved in the mighty name of God,” he said.
In his
response, Fayemi said: “We are here to work for Ekiti and our party leaders and
this, we are going to do together, because it is a collective responsibility.”
Tactically
referring to Adeyeye, Fayemi added: “We are going to work with everybody,
including those who just decamped to our party, because we are one big family
in APC.
“We shall
win by the grace of God. Our case was like the case of a ram that moved backward
to garner more strength. We are here to rescue Ekiti and it is a task we must
achieve.”
In his
contributions, Adeyeye, who returned to the party on Tuesday after 12 years in
the PDP, said: “I have returned home and my mission is to ensure that we killed
(Governor Ayo) Fayose politically by burying him.
“We shall
mobilise well to achieve this task and by the grace of God, this is a must-win
and must accomplished task for all of us.”
Fayemi’s
running mate, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, was also in the entourage, among other party
leaders.
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