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Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
An All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for the Ondo State governorship election, Olaide Owolabi Adelami, has expressed concern over rising security threats in the state ahead of the ruling party’s primary.
The statement issued by the Adelami Lamilaka Campaign Organisation on Tuesday in Abuja and signed by Segun Ogodo, blamed the Ondo State Government for the breakdown of security in the state, expressing fears that lives may be lost during the exercise.
It further alleged that state actors appear to be aiding and abetting gross insecurity in the state, particularly in Owo, the candidate’s hometown.
‘For quite some times, Owo community has been living under palpable fears as guns and other dangerous weapons are being openly displayed with sporadic gunshots even in the day time without any challenge,’ the statement read.
‘The police seem to be helpless as they complain of no operational vehicle for them to respond to emergencies. The questions people are asking is that could this be deliberate? Whose responsibility is it to provide essential working tools for security operatives in the state? In spite of the huge security votes at the disposal of the governor to be used in securing lives and property of the people, it is now used to molest and harass perceived opponents.
‘The authority and the general public are invited to note the challenging situation in Owo community and to further note that crimes related to killing and kidnapping of party stalwarts may not be far from the nefarious activities of this killer squad. The task, for them, became necessary as there are about six aspirants contesting against Mr Governor in his hometown, Owo.’
The campaign team further urged security forces, including the Nigeria Police Force, the DSS and Civil Defense, to investigate and make a proper arrest before July 20 party primary.
‘Furthermore, it was gathered that bad boys recruited to perpetuate the acts are given mandate to kill some popular APC aspirants and their supporters before the primary election. Some categories of APC strongholds loyal to these marked-for-death aspirants are to be bulldozed with cutlasses, pump-action guns and AK47 assault rifles bought for them,’ the statement alleged.
Raising further alarm, the campaign organisation stated: ‘In the meantime, several letters have been submitted to the Presidency and Inspector-General of Police office by one of the leading APC groups in the state, Ondo APC Mandate Group over the stock-pilling of arms but up till now, neither investigation nor arrest has been made, which gives these bad boys an impression that nothing will happen to them.
‘For the last time, we hereby call on Nigeria Police Force, the DSS and Civil Defense to investigate and make a proper arrest before July 20 primary election. Our fear is that after the governorship election the temple of their mobilization will not continue, and these boys will turn to armed robbery, kidnapping and terrorism, which are already happening along Owo-Akure and Owo-Akoko roads.
‘A stitch in time saves nine. This is how Boko-Haram started and was treated with kid-gloves until the situation became a national embarrassment with all the security services involved in fighting the insurgence,’ the campaign group warned.
