Ekiti poll: Masked men arresting my supporters, Segun Oni cries out
Former Governor of Ekiti State, Segun Oni has said some masked people are unleashing terror and arrests on his supporters ahead of the governorship election in the state slated for Saturday.
He went further that the assailants abducted one of his supporters, Kayode Adelusi who has not been found as the time of filing this report. He disclosed that some people close to the Presidency are behind the dastardly act, using their influence to launch undeserved arrests and oppression on his supporters.
Oni who is contesting to be governor under the platform of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, revealed these in an interview with Arise TV Morning Show monitored by Vanguard on Thursday.
The ex-governor then made an appeal to the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Usman Alkali Baba to check the arrests and protect the people of Ekiti State who have a civic duty of voting on Saturday.
Oni further said: “Two nights ago, armed people with face masks went to one of my supporters’ place, Kayode Adelusi, they broke his door, abducted him and as I speak to you we don’t know where he is.
“We accept the fact that the IGP said adequate measure are in place to safeguard people in the state, but he must address the issue of indiscriminate arrest. These people are bringing oppression to people who didn’t belong to them.”
Meanwhile, recall IGP Baba, has ordered the immediate mobilization and deployment of adequate police personnel, Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), technical capabilities of the Police Airwing, the Force Marine, Mounted Troops, K-9 Section, and other operational assets for the successful conduct of the Ekiti State gubernatorial elections scheduled for Saturday.
This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday by the Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi. This includes the deployment of selected seasoned strategic commanders from the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police and above for effective supervision of security personnel and operations in the election.
The IGP noted that the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) who is the supervisory DIG for the South-West Geo-Political Zone, DIG Johnson Babatunde Kokumo, psc(+), mni, has been deployed to Ekiti State as the Coordinator of the security component for the election.
“DIG Kokumo is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Operation Order evolved from the Election Security Threat Assessment, to ensure a peaceful and conducive environment devoid of violence and to guarantee law abiding citizens freely perform their civic responsibilities without molestation or intimidation,” the statement added.
Speaking further, the ex-governor of Ekiti State dismissed reports in the media that he withdrew from the governorship race, adding that he cannot be easily enticed with money to step down for any political party’s candidate as claimed by some stalwarts of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The former governor affirmed that he is the most popular politician in the state, so could not fathom why he would have stepped down for any party, stressing that his political opponents were scared of his popularity.
Oni said, “APC is afraid, they know I’m popular hence the lies. I believe that it shows the spirit of panic on APC side, I’m the number one candidate, I’m topmost, I am not withdrawing. I never cut any deal with APC.
“This game is up for them, maybe that’s why they concocted that I withdrew from the race. They should allow the people of Ekiti to pass their judgment.
“What will Asiwaju (Bola Tinubu) give me to make me withdraw from the race? Is it money, I’m the type that cannot be easily moved by money; Is it that he (Asiwaju) wants to make me his VP, which is not possible?” Vanguard
