Gov. Dapo Abiodun Under Fire Over Attack On Otunba Segun Showunmi, PDP Chieftains.
— Tension, Angry Reaction Following Attack By APC Thugs On PDP Chieftain Segun Showunmi, Others.
— PDP Petitions IGP Accuses APC Of Seeking To Subvert Justice.
Court hurriedly adjourns as alleged APC thugs invade tribunal, attack Segun Showunmi, other PDP chieftains
Group of thugs loyal to the All Progressive congress (APC) on Monday invaded the governorship election petitions tribunal in Ogun during a hearing into the case against the result of the March 18 polls, the Peoples Democratic Party claimed.
A PDP chieftain, Segun Showunmi, alleged he and several of his supporters were attacked and wounded. According to him, the victims are receiving treatment in different hospitals.
The alleged attack is believed to be aimed at preventing the tribunal from hearing and admitting evidence which could nullify Governor Dapo Abiodun’s second term win as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Speaking to The Gazette, Mr Showunmi accused the governor of promoting violence and proposed that the petition tribunal be relocated from the reach of Mr Abiodun.
“Dapo Abiodun has turned Ogun state into a bloodbath. He cannot rig this election and claim that people should not present evidences of his malpractice,” stated Mr Showunmi.
The PDP chieftain added, “We are appealing to President Tinubu to relocate the tribunal out of Ogun state to where all parties can feel safe without intimidation.”
Kunle Somorin, Mr Abiodun’s chief press secretary during the governor’s first term, declined to comment. The Gazette could immediately get a response from Tunde Oladunjoye, the APC spokesman in Ogun.
INEC controversially returned Mr Abiodun elected after he polled 276,298 votes against his top challenger, Ladi Adebutu’s 262,383 votes.
Mr Abiodun’s win was questionable at the time of the announcement, having led his opponent by a margin less than the number of voters who could not cast their votes due to violence and other factors.
A similar case was announced as inconclusive in Adamawa, and subsequently, INEC held a rerun.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reacting to the incident via the office of its National Publicity Secretary Hon. Debo Ologunagba condemned the attack on Showunmi, Journalists, others in statement and further petitioned IGP while accusing the APC of seeking to subvert justice.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) condemns, in very strong terms, the violent attack on its members, including a notable leader of the PDP in Ogun State, Otunba Segun Sowunmi, journalists and other Nigerians today, Monday, June 5, 2023, by thugs mobilized by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to disrupt the proceedings of the Ogun State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta.
The PDP is aware that the attack by the APC is aimed at instilling fear, disrupting the proceedings of the Tribunal, creating a siege mentality on the people and the Judiciary so as to truncate the delivery of justice in the Petition filed by the PDP governorship candidate, Hon. Ladi Adebutu, against the manifest rigging of the Ogun State Governorship election in favour of APC candidate, Governor Dapo Abiodun.
Information available to the PDP indicates that the hoodlums were mobilized by APC leaders who are in mortal fear that the APC’s manipulations and rigging in the Ogun State Governorship election will be exposed at the Tribunal.
The attack by the APC is a direct assault on the institution of the Judiciary, the Election Tribunal and a serious threat to the sustenance of Democracy in our country.
Our Party is distressed that the attack by the APC on our leaders and members, journalists and other innocent Nigerians reportedly occurred in the full glare of police operatives and other security agents, who were said to have made no attempt to arrest or stop the APC hoodlums from unleashing violence at the Tribunal. Such scenario is indicting on Nigeria’s security authorities which requires urgent attention.
The PDP therefore calls on the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) to direct an immediate investigation into the security lapses that might have paved way for such unchecked attack on the institution of the Judiciary and other innocent Nigerians at the premises of the Electoral Tribunal.
Our Party, standing with the people of Ogun State, demands that those behind the attack must be tracked down and brought to book immediately especially as there are ample evidence from video recordings of this shameful and dastardly action by the APC sponsored hoodlums.
The PDP however states that the people of Ogun State and the PDP will never be deterred or cowed by the APC to give up the legitimate and constitutional pursuit for the recovery of the mandate freely given to our Party and Governorship candidate in Ogun State, Hon. Ladi Adebutu, and nothing will change that resolve.
Our Party also calls on all our members, supporters and people of Ogun State to remain calm but at alert and ready to use every means within the ambit of the law to resist the APC in its plots to disrupt the Tribunal and subvert the course of justice in the matter.
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