The Osun State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) Saturday raised the alarm over what it termed “a devious orchestration of series of allegations targeted at demonising the state governor, Rauf Aregbesola”.
In its reaction to media reports alleging that some unidentified thugs attacked some residents at a newsstand in Osogbo, the state capital, the party in a statement said “available facts indicate that what was sold to the media as an attack by thugs fraudulently and mischievously called APC thugs, was a disagreement that ensued between two people who engaged each other in arguments over football and politics”.
The statement, which was signed by the chairman of the party in the state, Prince Gboyega Famodun, said the situation was the usual happenings at newsstands where people gather to buy and read newspapers and engage in debates.
The party said it gathered that the argument degenerated into a free for all, which also led to the destruction of the newspapers of one of the feuding parties.
It added that investigations showed that after the fight which involved the two people with their own supporters, “the development got to the knowledge of the same people who were behind the failed protests in Osogbo on Tuesday”.
The party said: “We have since found out that the fight between these people and their friends led to the tearing of newspapers belonging to one of them who operates the newsstand named Kazeem.
“Therefore, we shudder to think how anyone can link this to the government or the governor of Osun? However, we learnt that the fight got to the knowledge of the group calling itself Coalition of Civil Society Organisation for the Emancipation of Osun, which organised Tuesday’s failed rally against the government. They were the ones who thereafter saw an opportunity in this and felt it would make good news and help their campaigns of calumny to link the fight to the government.
“It is instructive that the statement on this so-called attack on people was written and sent out through the same email address of the group, [email protected]. The question should then be asked: what evidence have these people provided to establish this link to the governor or our party, the APC?
“It is also instructive to note that the matter in question, if it was of the magnitude painted by the organisation in the email sent out to journalists in and outside the state, was never reported to the Police. How could three buses loaded with thugs have carried out attacks on innocent people in the state capital without the Osun Police Command being aware of it?
“It should be noted that the scene of the alleged attack, which is opposite the Old Governor’s Office in Osogbo, is just about a kilometer to the headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force, Osun Command less than 300 metres to the popular Olaiya Junction where one of the Police Armoured Personnel Carriers of the state is stationed. It is equally less than 400 metres away from the Directorate of State Security (DSS) office in Osogbo”.
The APC queried why “all these agencies were not able to arrest the thugs especially with evidence that they are members of our party”.
The party said the chairman of the Newspapers Vendors Association had denied accusing the government of the violence, insisting that the report was just the creation of those who wanted to cast aspersions on the governor and the APC.
It further added that the call by the group asking President Muhammadu Buhari to call Aregbesola to order was calculated at tarnishing the governor’s image.
