The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have been trading words over the attack on the Secretary of the Ogun State chapter of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bunmi Adigun, by the security aides attached to Governor Ademola Adeleke, on Friday.
The journalist was said to have gone to cover the 66th birthday anniversary celebration of Abepa of Joga-Orile, Oba Adeyemi Adekeye, and the conferment of a chieftaincy title on Governor Adeleke when he was reportedly harassed by Adeleke’s security.
The APC Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement on Saturday, questioned the rationale behind the Adeleke security operatives putting on a different uniform from the normal police uniform, no name tag, covering their noses and faces with nose masks.
“It is incumbent on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to investigate the needless and brutal attack on the innocent journalist and the cameramen who were rough-handled and attacked thereby subjecting the image of the police into disrepute.
“The IGP should also find out if the indecorum Adeleke security aides who threw caution to the wind by assaulting the journalist and cameramen are either fake or authentic police because of their uniform which is different from the one accustomed to by the citizenry.
“No fewer than 30 APC members of Osun State extraction were sent to the great beyond by the militia arm of Osun PDP who rigged the past series of elections in the state for the PDP candidates through maximum violence. Even after the election, they have continued to unleash violence on the people of the state.
“It is high time Governor Adeleke stopped exporting vices to another state as this is telling on her corporate image which has always been in the news for negative events,” Lawal said.
In a swift reaction, the Director of Media, Osun PDP, Oladele Bamiji, described the sympathy of APC for journalists as ‘fake’, saying the opposition party only trying to draw political capital from the incident rather than genuine concern for the victim and trying to profit from the pain of another person.
“The security aide involved in the attack wasn’t in the entourage of Governor Adeleke and so, it is nothing but a fallacy to try to tie it around His Excellency. It is bad politics that has failed on arrival and the APC must wake up to this reality and face the raging question of the mindless looting of the state by its members. That is what matters to Osun people, not the influenced attack on the person of the Governor through twisted narrative,” PDP said.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson to Governor Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed has tendered unreserved apologies to the Ogun State chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) for the reported unruly conduct of some security men at the Joga-Orile chieftaincy event.
“However, we want to put it on record that several dignitaries attended the event with several security personnel of various sections and departments. The officials shown in the video do not belong to the convoy of the Osun state Governor,” Rasheed said.