APC, Accord trade blame over fresh shooting in Osun

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Accord Party in Osun State on Sunday traded accusations over a fresh outbreak of violence in Okinni, Egbedore Local Government Area, with both parties alleging that their members were attacked by political thugs linked to the other.

In a statement signed by the APC Director of Media and Information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, the party alleged that suspected Accord Party hoodlums dressed in Amotekun uniforms attacked its members in the community on Saturday.

According to the APC, the attackers arrived in a Toyota Sienna bus and a Toyota 4Runner SUV, shooting sporadically in the area.

The party claimed that the attackers targeted one of its members, Mr Muideen Oyeladun, popularly known as “Akilapa,” who was relaxing at his wife’s shop with political associates after returning from a social function.

The APC alleged that several of its members sustained gunshot injuries during the attack and were rushed to a private hospital in Osogbo for treatment.

However, the Accord Party gave a different account of the incident, alleging that gunmen led by an APC chieftain identified as Asiri Eniba attacked Okinni on Saturday night, shooting three traditional chiefs who are currently receiving treatment at the emergency ward of the Osun State University Teaching Hospital.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Pastor Victor Akande, the Accord Party alleged that “those known to be Accord sympathisers were targeted, including the three chiefs now lying critically wounded at the hospital. The victims at the hospital narrated that the attackers came in AMBO-branded vehicles”.

According to the statement, the injured chiefs and other victims were evacuated to the hospital with the assistance of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), who was later allegedly transferred to a rural community by the state police command.