BY YOMI KAREEM AND RICHARD AKINTADE, OSOGBO
Osun State Chapter of Accord has condemned the Monday attack on journalists and some other innocent people at Gbongan town.
Reports had it that members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) were on official assignment to cover the campaign of one of the governorship candidates contesting the July 16th election when hoodlums attacked them.
In a statement by the Media Team of the state Accord governorship candidate, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, the party frowned at the “barbaric” action and called for the immediate arrest of the perpetrators.
“We totally condemned this attack on journalists and other innocent people going about their normal duties. The perpetrators and their sponsors should be held and be made to face the wrath of the law.
“We certainly know that supporters of both APC and PDP had for some times now were displaying their strength and to fish out the culprits, security agents should look inward within the two political parties”.
The party said the plan was to subject the populace into palpable fear and to scare them away from coming out to vote to give opportunity to candidates with lower intelligence and capacity.
Accord sympathized with the injured journalists and called on the electorate to shift their allegiance from the “epileptic and deceptive parties.”
In a related development, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the state, Gboyega Famodun, has condemned the actions of the allegedly hired political thugs.
In a statement yesterday, Famodun commiserated with the journalists and some members who were attacked when the party’s governorship campaign train visited Gbongan, Aiyedaade Local Government of the state.
According to the Chairman, in his words; “The attack was wicked, uncivilised, crude, callous, shocking, inhuman and against the tenets of democracy.
“I cannot fathom the reason for the attack,” he said, adding that the nefarious act was carried out by some elements who were afraid of defeat in the forthcoming election.
“I commiserate with the chapel over the attack of four of their members by suspected political thugs shortly after the governor and his entourage left the campaign venue at Gbongan on Monday,” he said.
Famodun stated that no amount of provocation, through physical and verbal attacks, would prevent the Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola, from coasting to victory in his re-election bid on July 16, 2022.
It was learnt that the Chapel’s bus, with journalists on it, was attacked by suspected political thugs while leaving the venue of the governorship campaign in Gbongan.
The attackers, who were armed with cutlasses, cudgels, axes, stones and other weapons, also attacked the APC members’ vehicles, leaving many injured. The injured newsmen were, however, taken to a private hospital at the Ogo-Oluwa Area of Osogbo for treatment after they returned to the state capital.
