There was chaos in the Aregbe area of Osogbo, Osun State capital as armed political thugs stormed the area shooting sporadically to disrupt the weekly meeting of The Osun Progressive (TOP), a caucus of the All Progressives Congress in the state.

Residents scampered for safety as the thugs kept shooting in the air for about five minutes around 2 pm on Thursday.

It was gathered that the hoodlums invaded the Oranmiyan house, Aregbe junction where the TOP meeting was held in a black Siena space bus.

Though there was no record of major casualty, some of the party members were injured as they ran for safety.

Shortly after the incident, the Chairman of TOP, Elder Adebiyi Adelowo addressed the pressmen, decrying the situation.

Adebiyi called on the president, Muhammadu Buhari and the inspector general of police, Usman Alkali Baba to come to their rescue and put an end to the situation.

He further stated that the operatives of Nigeria Security and civil defence corps, NSCDS that serve as their security were sent on an assignment outside the state which made them open to attackers.

He said, “This is coming three days after we raised an alarm that Ilerioluwa group is planning to assassinate leaders of TOP because we got the information.

“We need to remind security agencies that they are responsible for securing lives and properties in the state. We are not attacking anybody. We have been holding our meetings regularly here for the past three to four months.

“We need the president to intervene in the matter of Osun State. We were attacked by the same party members openly in the afternoon. We were also attacked on August 15, yet we were arrested and arraigned. Also, during our state congress, they attacked us.”

He posited that it is not by force to support Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s group, adding that the TOP caucus will produce a candidate in the next election.

“We have equal rights in the same party. By God’s grace, we will install a candidate of TOP as the governor of this state next year. A member of TOP will be the governor of this state. This is our resolution, we will produce a TOP candidate who will contest and win at the next election,” said Adebiyi.

Reacting in a statement, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Ismail Omipidan, described the attack allegation as a lie, pointing that Elder Adebiyi has lied several times.

Omipidan noted that the governor is not a violent man and will never support any violence in whatever form.

He urged the former governor and current Interior minister, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, to disown Adebiyi before he rubbishes his good office.

“Elder Adelowo Adebiyi is a discredited fellow and should therefore not be taken seriously. In law, if a witness bears false witness once, no testimony from such a fellow would ever be accepted. But in the case of Adebiyi, he has lied several times and this latest allegation is one of such lies.

“If by his admission, he is saying personnel of NSCDC had always provided security cover for them, on whose authority were they doing it then and who ordered their withdrawal today?

“We want the concerned security agencies in the State to watch Adebiyi closely, as he appears to be up to something sinister.

“I have intelligence report that Abdulrasaq Salinsile, the former APC Secretary in the State, met with one of those that were alleged to have carried out today’s attack. I want to believe they are acting out a script already prepared by them.

“Recall that during the State Congress, that was how they lied that someone, who many journalists who covered the Congress at the Stadium saw, led a purported attack on them at Ogo Oluwa,” he said.

TodayNG