Osun poll: APC alleges thugs mobilised to Government House

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has raised the alarm over the alleged mobilisation of political thugs to the Government House in Osogbo ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.

A member of the media committee of the APC Governorship Campaign Council, Kehinde Ayantunji, made the allegation at a press conference on Friday, calling on the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to act on the party’s intelligence.

He said, “We have intelligence that a large number of political thugs have been mobilised into the Government House. Tomorrow’s election is under serious threat with the behaviour of the Osun State Government”.

Ayantunji claimed that the alleged thugs had been moving in and out of the Government House premises in the two hours preceding the press conference.

According to him, the group arrived in vehicles including Lexus Jeeps, a Toyota Corolla and a red Volkswagen Golf, giving the registration numbers as KRD207IS, AKD795GR, AGL719 and KRD210KS.

“We are not just raising this alarm; we have double-checked our intelligence and we have pictorial evidence of what we are saying here this afternoon,” he said, alleging that some of the suspected thugs were imported from Lagos.

Ayantunji further alleged that the group had been mobilised with funds and ammunition to destabilise areas where the APC claimed it had an electoral advantage, including Ward 5 in Osogbo, Wards 4 and 8 in Egbedore, as well as Okini, Ido Osun and Ofatedo.

He called on security agencies, the international community and other stakeholders to take the allegations seriously, warning that Governor Ademola Adeleke should be held responsible if any APC member or voter was harmed during Saturday’s election.