There was panic on Thursday around Coca Cola Area of Osogbo, where Oranmiyan House used as campaign office by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, is located, following an attack on the premises by armed men.
The gunmen reportedly arrived at the area around 5.30pm in two vehicles which were parked opposite the building, facing Akoda/Gbongan Road, and fired sporadically into the air.
The incident occurred after the weekly meeting of ‘The Osun Progressives,’ a faction of the All Progressives Congress in the state enjoying Aregbesola’s backing.
It was further learnt that the assailants continued shooting into the air as they advanced towards the secretariat and later fired several shots at a transformer located beside the building.
A shop owner near the secretariat, simply identified as Modupe, said the gunmen shot at Oranmiyan House and damaged some of its window planes.
She said, “We all ran in different directions. Those that attacked the building fired some shots at the transformer located near it. They also shot at the secretariat and damaged its window, as well as a canopy erected in front of the building which caught fire.
“We extinguished the fire after they left. Everything lasted about 13 minutes. They escaped towards Ogo Oluwa end of Osogbo/Gbongan.”
The Youth Leader of Aregbesola’s faction of the state APC, Seun Abosede, who was on the premises of Oranmiyan House when the attack took place, said one of the attackers was later arrested and was handed over to policemen, who arrived after the assailants had left the area.
Abosede said, “They also shot sporadically at the transformer with the aim of setting it on fire, but luckily, a canopy in front of the building caught fire instead.
“But some people around here quickly mobilised and put off the fire. The gunmen came in two vehicles and they quickly jumped inside after about 15 minutes of sporadic shooting and fled.
“But one of perpetrators, who was not fast enough to jump into their vehicles, was wrestled down by some people nearby, and was handed over to the police. The Commissioner of Police also came around to see the premises.”
Osun govt dissociates self
Meanwhile, the state government has dissociated itself from the attack, while the Chairman of the Rauf Aregbesola’s faction, Rasaq Salinsile, called on security agencies in the state to be alive to their responsibility and prevent havoc on the residents.
The call was on the heels of Thursday attack on the campaign office of ex-governor by some unknown gunmen.
Salinsile, in his official reaction to the incident, declared that the state was fast descending into anarchy under the watch of the governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.
The statement read in part, “Today’s attacks climaxed a litany of others on members of the APC who are opposed to the style of governance and party administration of Governor Gboyega Oyetola in the state.
“On the 18th of November last year, a similar attack was carried out in the daylight when gunmen shot into the crowd of members at the same Oranmiyan House. Till date, nothing has been heard of that incident.
“Just on Tuesday, thugs were sent after party members in Ikirun during a Federal Constituency meeting. The police, rather than arrest the thugs that unleashed mayhem on elderly women and men, went from house to house of our leaders and members to arrest them in a midnight raid.
“They were on Wednesday sent to Ilesa correctional centre. At this stage, all we can do is to alert the whole world to the fast descent into anarchy under the watch of Governor Oyetola and in particular, the devilish plot to mow down APC leaders and members who refuse to go along with him on his misadventure.
“We call on the security agencies to, as a matter of urgency, be alive to their duties before more havoc are wreaked by the desperation of the Governor.”
Meanwhile, the Osun State government also condemned Thursday’s attack on the Oranmiyan House, the political edifice of the immediate past governor, Rauf Aregbesola.
In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Funke Egbemode, the government disclosed that the Commissioner of Police had been charged to fish out the perpetrators of the attack and bring them before the law.
It also warned parents and guardians to be more vigilant with their children and wards, to forestall occasions where they become instruments in the hands of trouble makers.
The government also strongly dissociated itself from any involvement in the attack, saying that it was wicked for anyone to attribute such mischief to a government that had invested heavily in the peace of the state.
“The accusation that the government of Mr Adegboyega Oyetola had anything to do with Thursday’s attack on the Oranmiyan House is sad and laughable. It defies reasoning that a man who has invested so much in the peace of Osun in the last three years will descend that low.
“This government is united, it has all its ducks in a row. The Party is also united and its status and activities have been ratified by the national secretariat. There are no reasons to join issues with anyone, let alone engaging in violent act.
“Those who are grabbing at straws to stay afloat, especially because their rebels’ den has fallen like a pack of cards, should try to fix their fortunes instead of blaming everybody, but themselves, for what has happened to them,” the statement partly reads.
The Punch
