How Osun First Lady Escaped Attack In Gov Elect’s Town Ede

…PDP Blames Escort

The convoy of wife of Osun State governor, Mrs Kafayat Oyetola, reportedly came under attack by suspected hoodlums at Owode Ede in Osun State on Friday evening.

The Osun State Governor-Elect, Ademola Adeleke, is from Ede.

It was gathered that the First Lady was returning to Osogbo late Friday when her convoy met an obstruction caused by a broken down truck at the market junction in Owode Ede.

Efforts by security details of the governor’s wife to clear the road was said to have led to an altercation between them and some hoodlums.

Some claimed that the driver of the truck was beaten by the security men and that angered some hoodlums who pelted the convoy with dangerous objects.

An eyewitness said windscreens of some vehicles were also broken and some persons in the convoy were injured but the security details kept firing gunshots in the air to scare away attackers until the governor’s wife escaped.

The Information Officer attached to the office of the First Lady, Oluwatunmise Iluyomade, said the convoy was attacked.

She said, “No life was lost in the incident. Some security personnel attached to the convoy sustained various degrees of injuries.”

Meanwhile the Peoples Democratic Party in a statement on Saturday denied having anything to do with the attack.

The statement by the Media Director, Oladele Bamiji, was titled ‘How First Lady’s Escorts Beat Up Truck Driver, Sparking Public Reaction-Osun PDP’.

The statement read, “We are shocked to read this morning the futile attempt by the office of the outgoing First Lady to cover up the irresponsible conduct of her escort who beat up a truck driver at Owode, leading to public’s angry reactions against her entire convoy.

“According to eyewitness accounts, yesterday was Owode Ede market day and the road was expectedly crowded.

“A truck had developed a fault right in the middle of the road with the driver making efforts to get it to work.

“That was the point the First Lady’s convoy arrived at the scene and instead of helping to clear the traffic hold up , the security operatives around the First Lady pounced on the truck driver, beating him to a state of stupor.

“Realising the outcome of their criminal misadventure, the operatives rushed the driver to the hospital after the former had slumped. It was at this point that people around the market angrily reacted, pelting the convoy with stones and others.

“Eye witness accounts further revealed that as at the time the convoy was attacked, the angry crowd were not even aware of who was in the convoy until reinforcement was sent to the scene from Government House with sporadic shootings.

“We have gone this far with the details of the incident to strongly deny allegations that PDP thugs were responsible for the self-inflicted attacks on the convoy of the First Lady.

“As a party, we have no Asiri Eniba or Rashid Oko Ilu as the First Lady’s family actively nurtured before, during and after the election.

“PDP is a people’s party whose members will never harass and molest innocent citizens whose only crime was pursuing their daily needs under an economy recklessly battered by the First Lady’s party.

“We call on the First Lady to apologise to the truck driver who was inhumanly treated. It is not enough to rush him to the hospital. The First Lady should atone for the sins of his overzealous escorts unless she was responsible for the directive to beat up the innocent driver.

“Instead of blaming the PDP, we call on officials of the outgoing government to be mindful of their interface with the people of Osun State. Our people have been badly governed with harsh economic pains under a clearly inhuman administration.

“It is unacceptable and reprehensible for a First Lady and her team to assault a citizen and turn round to blame the opposition.”